Fire and Ice
by Writer of Roses
Summary: Inspired by Lady Blackmour's "Heir to My World." A story of love, comedy, separation and genetics. Contains the greatest SOLDIER of all time, a lovely OC, and an unexpected link to another Square Enix game - Kingdom Hearts. I hope you enjoy it.
1. A Meeting of Fate

Fire and Ice

Feeling disgruntled, Arianna threw the dishes into the sink, being sure to clank them together as she scrubbed in her attempt to make as much noise as possible. She had to get her point across. After all, it _had so _been Lexi's turn. But the babies always managed to get out of housework.

"Arianna, would you shut up!? There's someone at the door!"

"FINE!" Just when she turned down the volume of her protest, she heard the door open and her father gasp in what sounded like shocked awe.

'Odd,' Arianna thought, then laughed inwardly. 'Maybe it's the Ghost of Christmas Past at the door.'

"_The _Sephiroth! It's an honor, sir!" At the name, Arianna went blank. 'Huh?' But then she heard a new voice...

"I'm here on call from Shinra, since the Mansion is under construction as of late. But, as you must know, the hotels in the vicinity are not of the best quality. I was curious to see if you would be so kind as to house me for the night."

The new sound made Arianna lose grip on the soapy plate. The tone was cool and confident, every syllable precise and articulate, portraying extreme intelligence. The pitch was just low enough to be truly manly, but not _so _low that people got the urge to slap him every time he spoke. It was just right. Also, there was an uncanny quality in it that sent shivers up her spine, tickling the sensitive hairs in her ears. She didn't know what it was, but she knew she liked it. She liked it a lot.

Luckily, though, she was able to catch the plate in time before it crashed to the tiled floor. Absent-minded in her eavesdropping, Arianna dried the soapy dish, put it back in the sink, and got on the stool to put the scrubber in the cupboard. Still on the stool, she began to lean forward so that she could look out of the doorway at the beautiful-sounding stranger.

Now with a full visual of the man, all Arianna could utter was "Wow..." A friend had once challenged her to define handsome. She now knew the idea had a one-word definition: _Sephiroth. _She had never seen anything like him! The man towered over her portly little father with an air of superiority, reflected in his eyes, which were a shade of green that Arianna had not known before now. His hair was an amazing silverish tint, as if it had been geniusly hand-crafted from slate, so long that it came close to sweeping the floor. His skin was surprisingly pale, making her wonder if he simmered in the sun instead of tanned. And although his facial features _were _a little gaunt, they befitted his lean and muscular structure in a way they could no one else.

'This is a man to behold,' Arianna said to herself. 'A purebred severely out of place among all the stray mutts in this part of town. I wonder if he's so regal because he was a king in a past life?' Then their eyes met, the stool came out from underneath her, and she toppled to the floor.

(Seph's PoV)

Sephiroth was utterly disgusted. Of all places, why here? He despised the small town of Nibelheim, with its _small_ people with _**small **_intelligence and their SMALL way of thinking. It seemed as if Shinra had put him on metaphorical diaper duty. Well, he wouldn't have it! He was too good to wipe the asses of the lowly townsfolk. And besides, it wasn't like there weren't enough people to baby-sit that precious Mansion of Shinra's already.

No matter. At least he might receive a bit of relaxation time. But where would he rest for the time being? The Mansion had recently been put under construction, due to horseplay involving some SOLDIERS-in-training and a few explosives. And although Shinra pretended to worship him, this was just a convenient excuse to refuse bedding to someone of his status. He'd have to look elsewhere. It was still early into the night, and fatigue had not and most likely _would not _set in, but it would still be best to establish a temporary sleeping ground.

He turned his head east. The shabby hotel? Ha! He'd rather sleep outside on the dirt. In honesty, some of the run-down houses were in better condition. Sephiroth scanned through until he found the nicest-looking one. Ugh. Not much of an improvement. Ah, well, hopefully he wouldn't have to be here very long. He strode up to the door and knocked purposefully. Then he heard the clatter of smashing china and muffled shouting. He sighed. Maybe this was a mistake. But there was no turning back. In no way would _he _play doorbell ditch.

The door opened, revealing a dull-witted seeming man, stout, and at least eight inches shorter than Sephiroth's eye level. He had quite a bit of facial hair, consisting of an unkempt mustache and a scrubby stubble of a beard, neither of which made him anymore attractive. The "struck stupid" expression in his "hidden under bushman brows" eyes and square jaw didn't compliment his appearance either. Or his intelligence, for that matter.

"_The_ Sephiroth! It's an honor, sir!"

Sephiroth smiled inwardly. Wonderful. The little man knew and _adored _him, apparently. This _had _been a mistake. What luck he was having lately. But he supposed it was better than nothing.

Trying to be polite and business like, Sephiroth cleared his throat, then declared, "I'm here on call from Shinra, since the Mansion is under construction as of late. But, as you must know, the hotels in the vicinity are not of the best quality. I was curious to see if you'd be so kind as to house me for the night."

At this the man looked shocked, but absolutely delighted.

"Of course, sir! But which room..." Then the man went somewhere else in his mind, mumbling that practically no room in the neighborhood was good enough to fit the hero standing in front of him. Sephiroth knew that nothing the man said was of any real importance, so he did not make any true point to listen. Instead, his eyes and ears started to focus in on other points of interest, such as the sound of wood scooting on tile, and a young girl sitting on the couch nearby.

She seemed emaciated, much too skinny to have eaten all the sweets that were left as empty wrappers on the table in front of her. She had the same jaw-dropped look her father had shown. Obviously, his adoration was a household idea.

Then something in the corner of his eye grabbed hold of his attention, and he reverted his gaze to see another girl sticking her head out of the kitchen doorway. But before he could assess her appearance, he saw her figure stumble, heard her squeal, then found her sprawled on the floor, trying to regain her senses. She had her head bowed, revealing nothing but her flowing ebony hair, as black as the deepest bowels of space.

Then she lifted her head, and Sephiroth was surprised to see a very intelligent-looking young woman, age around seventeen, or so he suspected. She had a naturally olive-toned complexion, and she appeared to be one of the lucky teenagers to have escaped the clutches of hormonal acne. Their eyes met again, and he was under the impression that her deep, dark irises were made of... chocolate. Very, _very rich _chocolate.

Her face suddenly turned crimson with embarrassment. Sephiroth smiled when he thought to himself, 'Redder than the red Materia.'

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna could feel the blood rushing to her face. That couldn't have gone any worse. Lexi was laughing at her, her father had his hand pressed to his head in a gesture of shame, and even Sephiroth was smiling. Please no, was he laughing at her too? ...No, the humor in his eyes didn't seem the ridiculing type. In fact, his smile was quite intriguing. Only the corners of his mouth were raised, portraying that superiority factor again. And although his mouth exuded all the emotion needed, the rest of his face was impassive, without a single line to show that the smile was even there.

Oh, she had to get out. She had to get out of this horrible situation she got herself in. With as much speed as she could muster, Arianna got up, brushed herself off, and zoomed into the kitchen out of sight, all in one swift motion. She rested her head against the kitchen wall, shaking and still red. She wanted to laugh and cry all at once. She was in a hysteric of sorts, and she wasn't sure why. Sure, the stranger in her house was beautiful, and she had just made a fool of herself in front of him, and the world might stop turning if she didn't run her fingers through his hair... But that was no reason for her to flip out the way she was doing. And she was still blushing!

She sighed, and then she heard her father comment, "You'll have to excuse my daughters. Making me look bad in front of important people is one of their primary sources of entertainment." Making _him _look bad? Oh, perish the thought!

"Arianna, will you come in here so that you may show our honored guest to his room?"

She stuck her head out of the doorway in bewilderment. "Why me?"

(Seph's PoV)

Sephiroth became disgusted... again. The way this man acted was remarkable. His _daughters_ making _**him **_look bad? He was pretty well doing a damn fine job of that himself. And when he called in the girl, and she "questioned his authority," he suddenly became indignant. He reminded Sephiroth of a cock with his breast feathers ruffled.

"Well," he began, his tone scorching, "It's the least you can do for interrupting our conversation."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. What conversation had _that _been? Then the little man turned to him, and spoke, automatically gracious again.

"You will be staying in the nicest room in the house, which is my daughter Lexi's room." The girl on the couch made a short, high-pitched sound, like that of a mouse's final squeak before being abruptly silenced by some predator. The other one had an odd little smirk on her face.

The man flushed, turning on his daughter, growling, "Lexi, there will be NO discussion! You can sleep with Arianna in her room."

Sephiroth noticed that the smirk vanished from the second girl's face.

"What!? Why can't she sleep on the couch!?" She seemed confounded, as if she was being convicted for a crime she had no part in. After twenty years of keeping his emotions in check, Sephiroth wasn't sure how to react to a house full of overly dramatic people. The flush on their father's face grew deeper, and it appeared that he had to apply some effort to keep from shouting. The man spoke again, through clenched teeth,

"Young lady, I said NO DISCUSSION. You know the couch is hard on Lexi's sensitive spine."

"She says..." Sephiroth heard the girl mumble, but apparently he was the only one who did. But then she straightened herself up, looked at him with a defeated, shy smile, and made the gesture for him to follow her.

"Please come with me," she grumbled in a tone of very little confidence. He walked behind her past the temperamental little man, and the skinny girl who seemed permanently immobile on the couch, up a narrow set of stairs where the ceiling was so low that ducking was not an option but a necessity, through a thin hallway with three doors, and through one of those doors into a surprisingly spacious room. And besides the hoard of stuffed animals in the corner and the feminine lavender paint on the walls, the room wasn't _too _shameful to stay in.

"I hope you find our modest conditions to your liking."

Sephiroth strode past the young woman into the stomach of the room, and took a good look at the bed. The frame was, actually, truly long enough for him to sleep in comfortably. He was pleasantly shocked. The sheets appeared full and silken, the pillows voluminous enough to signify bird down as their stuffing. "This will do fine, thank you."

He began to unholster his sword from his belt when he realized that the girl was still behind him, so he turned his head to glance back at her. Her head was cocked to the side, her gaze downward, and in her eyes were an expression that Sephiroth unfortunately was unable to read. But then she realized that he had caught her in the act of _whatever_ she was doing, and corrected herself. She giggled, gave a feeble good night, and left the room, hurriedly closing the door behind her.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna was unimaginably embarrassed. She didn't seem to be functioning properly tonight. She replayed the last two minutes in her mind... Two minutes. Wow. Was that really how long it took before she screwed something up again?

She had been doing fine, showing the man up to where he could sleep, in Lexi's room, which had always been larger and nicer than her own. But just to make herself feel better, she said in a hostess sort of way, "I hope you find our modest conditions to your liking."

When he passed her to get a better look at the room, she happened to notice that the extension of cloth coming past his lower back that was part of his suit swept up at an angle. At that moment, there was only one thought inside her head, but it buzzed like an angry bumblebee: WHAT AN ASS!

But the second that she glanced back up, she saw that, to her disadvantage, he was staring straight at her. She giggled, feeling stupid, squeaked, "good night," and ran out. Now, she was down at the couch she chose to sleep on. Her father had departed to bed shortly after she came downstairs. And so had her sister. TO GO SLEEP IN _HER_ ROOM!

She sighed, lying down on the couch to stare up at the ceiling. She had no idea why she couldn't do a thing right around this man. She had never felt such a strong physical pull toward anyone. And even though Sephiroth had a sense of beauty to him that was almost feminine, there was still no mistaking the verility in his figure _and _his manner. He was sexy, and it pissed her off that she couldn't manage to be sexy back.

Arianna tried her hardest to stay awake, but the longer she lie on the couch, the harder it became to keep her eyes open. Details vanished; colors began mixing until that beautiful green of Sephiroth's eyes was the last thing she saw before the black of a deep sleep.


	2. Sharpness of Tongue

The moment Sephiroth awoke, he knew he needed to bathe. He felt dirty all of a sudden, but he wasn't sure why. He couldn't remember any unfavorable dreams or late-night experiences of _any _sort. Oh well. A quick shower couldn't hurt. Now, if only he could find a lavatory in this house.

Walking out into the hallway, he assumed that the three rooms up here were all bedrooms. Strolling quietly downstairs, for it was still early in the day, he saw his voluptuous young guide curled in a tight ball on the nearest sofa. She didn't look comfortable. Then he noticed another door and opened it straight into a comfortably-sized bathroom. Success. The only point of interest seemed that there was no lock on the door. Problems might arise later because of that.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna's eyes popped open. She couldn't be more ashamed of herself. And yet, she was giddy in a perverse sort of way. She had just had a very vivid dream consisting of a lot of sweaty sex with Mr. Hero. Sephiroth had been so majestic, in fact, that he had taken the form of a fallen angel, to the point of having a beautiful, big black wing that swept Arianna off her feet. It felt so real that she woke to find herself in a tight, sore ball, which meant that she was unconsciously trying to hide her pleasure from the rest of the world. And even though she knew her virginity was perfectly intact, she still felt giggly.

Yawning, she staggered off the couch, heading toward the bathroom like she always did. But she didn't think to take the sound of running water into account until it was too late. She had already opened the door, but stopped in her tracks, mortified. Sure enough, standing naked behind the steamed-up shower glass door was Sephiroth, and even though his dimensions were fuzzy, she could tell he was staring straight at her.

"Sorry!"

Slamming the door shut, she put her head in her hands. DAMMIT! Everything was going wrong! Ever since Tall, Pale, and Handsome showed up, she kept making one faux pas after another. Then she heard something, something that made her wince. Sephiroth was laughing - a deep, hearty sound that resonated over the sound of the showerhead. It was a laugh that she suspected hadn't been used in awhile. It rang in her ears, the noise tickling and teasing her eardrum. 'Well,' she snarled to herself, 'at least _he's_ having fun.'

Well, what now? It was still dark outside! She didn't think she could face him when he came out, whenever that may be. But where would she hide? Kitchen? Nah, too risky. He could want a snack later. She could try her bedroom... Running up the stairs, she tried opening her door. Shit. Just as she thought. Lexi had locked the door. That little SHIT!

She turned around, about to pull her own hair out, when she noticed something shiny in the stomach of Lexi's room, for the door was open. Taking exactly two steps forward, she saw that the shine was from Sephiroth's long sword. She needed to run, to save herself from anymore embarrassment, but she couldn't seem to. The sword was just... gleaming so brightly.

With hypnotic steps, she went into the room, up to the bed where the object lay. The steel of it was so sleek, so lengthy, so _razor sharp_. She ran her fingers along its edge, imagining that the sword was its owner: luscious, with potential danger. It made her insides quiver with delight.

"Impressed?"

Arianna jumped; a serious mistake, because her right thumb had still been in contact with the sword, and the motion clearly sliced her digit. Crying out in pain, she saw that a huge chunk of her skin had been removed. She innately began to suck on her thumb to keep the blood from spilling out everywhere. Then, in a few motions, Sephiroth swiftly walked over to her, tore off a small piece of cloth from the bottom of the towel he was wearing, took Arianna's thumb out of her mouth, and created a tourniquet around it.

"You see," he murmured softly, gently applying pressure to her thumb, "this is what happens when amateurs play with knives."

Arianna wouldn't respond. Couldn't respond, actually, because the combination of the fact that he was touching her hand, and the fact that she could see everything from those glorious pectorals to the taught muscles leading downward in a triangular form to his pelvis bone and no doubt his... um... _manhood_... kind of left her speechless. She had liked and dated boys before, but she was still very much an innocent, and this was the first male body she could remember seeing fully... well, _almost _fully, anyway.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth couldn't help but smile. He knew he was making her nervous; the lovely young lady had "virgin" written all over her face. In his teenage years, he had been with many a woman, but they had all been of the "whore" variety, without a single passionate bone in their bodies.

He had no idea what it was like to plunge himself into a fresh, quivering young body, to be the first to satisfy a hunger that had only just been realized, but he predicted that the feeling was sweeter than honey.

But there was a snag. He could tell by the warmth in her hands and the glimmer in her eyes that she was the type of girl to make a strong commitment. And with commitment came love, and with that came vulnerability, which was something _he _could _**not **_have. So damn himself, he'd have to leave her be.

Letting go of her hand, he looked straight into her eyes, almost trying to see past them. Goodness. He hadn't seen them glistening like this before. They were absolutely beautiful. The fact that he couldn't have that beauty for his own really pissed him off. He didn't want to look at the beauty anymore. He moved away from her, and she headed toward the door.

"Oh, and Arianna..."

(Arianna's PoV)

She stopped dead in her tracks. He remembered her name! And the way he said it gave her goosebumps. She gulped, hesitated, then turned around. "Yes, Sephiroth?"

He sat on the edge of the bed, picked up his sword, looked up at her, and said, "Let's keep this martyr attempt to see me fully unclothed a secret between us, okay?"

Arianna opened her mouth, realized there was no response to a statement like that, closed it again, and then left the room, closing the door behind her. Ugh! What an asshole! And just when she thought there had been a moment between them. She looked at her thumb, and the blood-soaked cloth encasing it. Sephiroth had seemed so sweet for a minute. And when they had locked eyes yet again, his mako eyes had been so... full of romance.

Psh. Whatever. That's what happens when you think your soul mate will just pop up at your door and save you from your current circumstance. But she had learned her lesson... she thought. He wasn't the type worth fighting for, right? _Right?_ Oh well, never mind. She'd work on her resolution and willpower at a later date.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Later that day, Sephiroth came downstairs, about to leave this demented household for good, when a strong new feeling hit him. What was it... guilt? Why was he feeling guilty? He never had before, and he didn't like that he was feeling it now. Then a stream of bipolar questions zoomed with flaming ardor through his mind:

Had he hurt the girl's feelings? Who cares if he had? Should he make it up to her? Why, when he'd probably never see her again?

Walking through the living room, he barely noticed the skinny girl's eyes following him to the kitchen doorway. He had gotten the sudden urge to snack on _something._ But when he looked into the kitchen, he saw Arianna run up to him and barricade his way with a mop in her hands.

"Not... another... step!" She was fiercesome, and for good reason: the linoleum was perfectly glossy.

He smiled, pulled out the Masumune, chiding, "Relax," and stabbed it through an apple in a fruit bowl on the kitchen counter.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna was nervous. _Really _nervous. After all, Sephiroth's sword had gone over her shoulder, about a centimeter from her neck. Plus, he had sort of a malicious smile on his face that made her want to squirm, which she couldn't do, for risk of her life. But then he withdrew the sword, which she noticed had an apple skewered onto the end of it.

Suddenly, the showoff in him reared its ugly head, and he flipped the apple into the air, quickly putting his sword away before catching the apple again in his hand. As she watched him pop the apple into his mouth, he reminded her of a sacrificial pig. She raised one eyebrow, trying to look as unimpressed as possible.

He had been so proper last night, but now she knew he was much more unorthodox than he let on. Maybe he had Split-Personality Disorder.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"That was awesome!"

Sephiroth turned around, taking the bitten-into apple out of his mouth. He had forgotten that the skinny wretch had been in his presence. She had a cute, kittenish smile on her face that made her look much more innocent than he believed she was.

"Did you sleep well, Mr. Sephiroth...Sir?"

"Fine, thank you," he answered after swallowing the crisp bit of apple in his mouth. "But I'm afraid I can't say the same for your sister," he said lightly, glancing back at the saucy young woman standing in the doorway. She looked as if she had been force-fed a cactus plant.

The skinny girl giggled. "Oh, she's always grumpy in the morning. That's because she always has to finish the list of chores that Daddy gave her the night before."

Arianna started uttering harsh, unintelligible sounds, withdrawing her mop to throw it into a small cupboard on the other side of the kitchen. Sephiroth felt a bit of pity for the curvaceous teenager. He knew that almost every young adult was given work to do, but judging by the note of exhaustion in her eyes and the slightly rough consistency of her hands, he felt that her load of meaningless tasks was much too much.

He wished to assist her, but he wasn't sure why, or how. "That sounds like quite a bit of work," he began, directing the question toward Arianna, but the Lexi girl intercepted it and answered, "Well, Daddy figures that _somebody _should keep the house clean during the summer while he's at work all day."

"Hmm... That makes me wonder," he shot back, turning on the girl again, "What do _you _get done during the day?" Her kitten smile vanished. He was _so _thankful for that.

Then their father came downstairs, and immediately began asking a lot of obvious questions, all in quick succession of one another. "Sir! Did you sleep well? Were our circumstances adequate? Are you hungry? Would you like a large breakfast before you go?"

The last question caught his attention, and he started to hatch a plan to get his attractive little plaything out of work for awhile. Heh heh... This could change his obnoxious reputation in her eyes. Why not try it?

(Arianna's PoV)

Whoa, whoa... Wait a minute. She watched Sephiroth turn on her sister, and then that question: "What do _you _get done during the day?"

She was confused. Was he defending her? Was that pompous, wealthy bastard defending her, an oppressed rural bumpkin? No one had ever done that before. He had definitely shut Lexi up. If he hadn't been so mean earlier, she would have officially dubbed him her hero.

Then her father came down the stairs, and started asking Sephiroth a hoard of the same type of questions that an over-doting mother would ask her negligent son. Funny how just her father's _presence _could make her feel depressed and exhausted.

But then the breakfast question was asked, and Sephiroth held up a hand to silence her father. "Breakfast would be wonderful, thank you," he announced, to Arianna's dismay. She heaved a sigh. _Great. _That meant _she _was making it.

Her father grinned. "Splendid! We usually take our morning meals out in the backyard. There is a small stove out there, so go grab a chair, my daughter will get the supplies, and cater to your needs directly."

Sephiroth smiled, nodded, then, turning to leave out the back door, he winked at her. Or, at least, she _thought _he did. It was over so quickly, with him walking out the door at the end, that she wondered whether she had just imagined it or not. Shooing those thoughts away, she grabbed all the utensils she thought she'd need, then followed him out in a huff. She was _not _going to be this man's servant.

Slamming the largest pan down on the stove, she gave Sephiroth the most life-threatening glare she could muster up. "What would you like?" she growled, making it clear that she was not going to enjoy doing him any favors.

Then he did something she hadn't expected: he sat down in a chair, put his feet up lightly on the small table in front of him, and said, smiling, "Nothing."

"WHAT!? Then why did you say yes to breakfast? _Why _did you make me bring all this stuff out here?!" She was infuriated. This man's behavior made no sense at all.

"A person's appetite can change, you know," he stated matter-of-factly. She wanted to slap him. "I'm suddenly not hungry for food anymore."

When she heard that last sentence, she hesitated before snapping at him again. Was he insinuating something?

"And besides," he said, getting up suddenly, to come stand awfully close to her. Her hand instinctively reached for a large, two-pronged fork she had brought out. She _would _try to protect herself, if need be. "The longer you spend waiting on me, the longer you put off all those other stupid assignments your father throws at you."

"Uh..." She was at a loss for words. What kind of a response could you make to a statement like that? And he was still standing _way _too close. But, seeming to read her mind, he backed off, going to sit back down.

Before he did, though, he unsheathed his sword, sitting down to lay it on his lap. Then he began to polish it with a cloth that Arianna failed to notice him take while he was so... _near _her. It may have been the most dangerous-looking weapon she had seen before, (after all, she hadn't seen many,) but Sephiroth seemed to treat it like his most prized possession. He had this small smile on his face, the smile of a child playing with his favorite toy.

"So..." she began shakily, unsure of how to make conversation, "How am I supposed to look like I'm cooking without actually _doing _anything?"

He looked up at her, their eyes locking, his smoldering beyond imagination. Why did he look so mischievous all of a sudden? "I'm sure you'll think of something. You're very good at being melodramatic. And..." he said, pausing to glance at her entire body once over. She felt like a picture in a Xerox machine. "...You seem like you'd be able to get creative with your hands."

She giggled nervously. Oh yeah. He was _definitely _insinuating something. Would she be able to fight him off if he tried to get rough with her? Would she _want _to fight him off? She suddenly had the urge to go back into the security of the house, but her feet wouldn't obey her. And besides, she'd get kicked right back out here by her father if she managed to get herself to move anyway.

"Come, sit down," Sephiroth said, breaking her of her stupor.

"But," she mumbled, shaking her head slightly. It suddenly hurt. "...Wouldn't I get caught not doing anything?"

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "Oh, I think that your father believes that you actually want to be my slave. And your sister's bottom tends to stick to that couch cushion in front of the idiot box like Velcro. I doubt that either of them will check up on you any time soon."

Arianna giggled again, but she wasn't nervous anymore. When was the last time she had heard "idiot box" used to classify the television? And even though she knew that Sephiroth was a jerk that would probably bring her nothing but trouble, she couldn't help but like him. He seemed to be a jerk with class and a pretty good sense of humor.

'All right,' she thought as she sat down in the chair opposite him, 'maybe I'll give him a second chance.'

"You know," she began, much more unafraid than last time, "I think this is the first vacation day I've had in a long while where I've actually enjoyed being able to relax, if only for a minute."

"Shitty summer so far?"

'Ooh,' she thought, surprised, 'He curses. He's one of those people who doesn't think themselves too good to curse.' That made her smile. "Yeah, mostly composed of housework and grocery shopping. Every seventeen-year-old's dream vacation."

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth smiled. So he had been right about her age after all. "Well," he began, glad to finally have most of the awkwardness out of the situation, "my summers are never very relaxing either. I'm assigned to train young pricks into becoming experienced fighters. Most fail, becoming wanted criminals after they have dispersed. And the ones who pass are just older, larger pricks who now have choice to hoards of weaponry and explosives. That's actually why the Mansion is under construction."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I think I heard it that night. Woke me out of a dead sleep."

"Yes. Well," he responded, haven't having made small talk with someone in years. It was kind of nice. "I'm also in charge of taking care of Shinra's dirty laundry. I'm pretty sure that's why I'm here now, if you know what I mean."

The girl just nodded. She wasn't talking too much. Instead, it seemed that she just wanted to listen to him speak. He liked that.

"Do you know what surprised me most when I came into this house?" he asked, suddenly wanting to hear her voice as well. "It was the fact that you weren't afraid to be impolite to me, when I goaded a response out of you for anything rude I might have said. Most are annoyingly respectful to me, no matter how I treat them. And it's not just because of the sword I carry with me, either. It still amazes me how much of an impact Shinra has made on the world."

"Hmm..." she mumbled quietly. His statement seemed to amuse her. "I've never liked the company much. And I know I should be scared of their power, but..." She paused for a moment, and it appeared that she was wondering whether or not what she had to say would be appropriate to say in front of him. But she must have thought 'yes,' because then she said, "Nothing would make me happier than to really piss Shinra off."

He chuckled softly. "I agree whole-heartedly."

"Really?"

"Of course," he said, smiling again. Why was he getting so much enjoyment out of such a boring conversation? "You're not the only one that Shinra oppresses. But I'm not making any suggestions --- if Shinra's pride ever did get wounded by someone like you, you'd need to start worrying about your life."

"Nah," she joked, waving her hands down in a gesture of dismissal. "They wouldn't go after me. They'd probably go after my father, who is ironically the biggest fan of Shinra I've ever known. He gets on my nerves so badly sometimes. Is your father like that?"

Sephiroth was surprised at the personal question. Now he understood her real motives behind this conversation. That sort of pissed him off. It wasn't any of this girl's business!

He began to speak, but was unable to stop himself before he said, "I wouldn't know. I'm a person of the 'orphan' classification."

He wanted to smack himself. Why had he just said that? He never told his true personal status to anyone. What made this girl so special?

"Oh..." The girl bowed her head for a minute, obviously regretting her social blunder. Then silence set in, which aggravated him. The last thing he wanted was for awkwardness to return to this scene. So he decided to change the subject.

"You know," he began with purpose, "you should probably start taking self-defense lessons."

The girl raised up her head. "Huh?"

"Your inexperience with sharp objects frightens me."

"Uhh..."

"I could give you a few tips, if you like."

(Arianna's PoV)

This was surprising. Arianna couldn't believe that she had met someone who actually wanted to voluntarily teach her something. And coming from this particular man, too. Most thought spending time to pass knowledge was a chore.

The best part was that he wanted to teach her about swords. Her secret obsession. This might be exciting.

"I'd like that."

That response made him get up and resheathe his sword, and a look from him meant that she was to rise also. She followed him to the middle of her rather small yard, where there weren't any obstructions to get in the way of the lesson. Whatever the lesson may be.

"The first thing to worry about when handling a weapon," he said evenly, "is your stance. It could make or break your status in a struggle." Then he took out his sword again, turning it to where she could grab a hold of the handle. She did, and she automatically felt lop-sided. The sword was so long, _too _long for her. She heard Sephiroth chuckle as he stepped to the side of her, and she wondered if she looked as clumsy as she felt.

"How long _is _this thing?"

"Seven feet," he said, as if that was no major thing.

"Geez..." she whispered to herself, changing her angle of grip on the blade.

"Now, your stance isn't that bad," he began, walking up behind her. It made her anxious that she couldn't see what he was doing. "You seem to know instinctively that your knees need to be steady and firm. You just need to straighten up..."

Then she felt his hand rest upon the small of her back, and she gulped at the air nervously. Contact. She wasn't sure if she could handle physical contact. When he pushed lightly on her with that hand, she straightened up swiftly, rigid in her anxiety.

"Not too much, or else your body will be sore and your grip will be brittle." Then his hand left her back to rest again on her shoulder. There he went again with the physical contact! Well, he couldn't ask too much of her. Either she could be straight as a board, or she could be as mushy as Jell-O. She didn't think she had the strength of will to find that happy medium.

"Here... let me show you."

She gasped as quietly as she could, for what he did next made her feel like squealing. He pulled her back against him, trying to mold her form to fit his. Her attention rested most on the fact that he was tall enough to the point where his groin rested on the same spot on her back where his hand had just been. She tried to suppress a shudder, but couldn't. Did he have any _idea _what this was doing to her? Oh, she bet he did, and she also bet that he was enjoying watching her suffer.

"Got it now?" he asked quietly, his mouth quite close to her right ear. She turned her head to look up into his eyes, and nodded silently. Just as she thought. His eyes were flirty, suggestive, _bubbling _with sex.

The next occurrence startled her to the point of near-collapse. The kiss came fast, with serious intent of going farther. But it was still soft, and it sent shockwaves through her body. Sephiroth slowly turned her, so that she was facing him, the position more comfortable for both of them. She didn't pay any heed as the sword fell to the ground. When his arms wove themselves through hers and caressed her back, she made a soft moaning noise that vibrated between their lips. She closed her eyes gently.

Nothing could ruin this perfect moment. Nothing except...

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"WHAT THE _HELL_ IS GOING ON HERE!?!"

Startled, Sephiroth opened his eyes and broke his kiss with Arianna to see her father standing in the doorway of the house. He was the color of a ripe turnip. _Oh shit._

Then with the speed that Shinra prided him for, he let go of the girl, grabbed the Masumune, and went to the door in the fence, his ticket to freedom.

"I was just leaving," he said to her father, for the personal enjoyment of seeing the man's face flush _just a little deeper._

"You bet your ass you were."

He grinned, bowed to Arianna, locking eyes to see her beautiful chocolate orbs once more, and then left the house. That was the most fun he had had in quite some time.

(Arianna's Pov)

Exhausted, Arianna closed her bedroom door behind her and slumped down onto the bed.

Her father had given her a thorough verbal lashing as soon as Sephiroth had left, and double the amount of chores to boot. She might never get done at this rate.

She had hated the way that Sephiroth had just left like that to let _her_ face her father's rage. But she couldn't exactly blame him. That had been the smart thing to do. It just sucked that the smart thing wasn't always the _right _thing.

She sighed, drowsiness already playing upon her eyelids, when something sparkled at her from behind her window. It was unnatural compared to the sea of stars outside. Getting up and opening the window quietly, so as not to wake any grumpy family members, she reached down and scooped up what was on the sill.

She gasped as she realized that it was a beautiful, brand new pocket knife, the kind that viciously snapped open with a simple flick of a switch. And attached to it was a note that read: So no one can call you an amateur anymore.

There was no signature. There needn't be one. She knew who it was from. Hugging the closed and locked knife to her chest protectively, she did nothing to suppress the warmth that was blossoming inside her.

That was the most fun she had had in quite some time.


	3. Fate Intervenes Again

(Two Years Time)

Arianna was walking as fast as she could. Sprinting was a better description. She hated Midgar at night. The city was much, _MUCH _too big for her. And Holy only knew what kind of assholes and damned _freaks _came out around this time and this part of town. There was a reason that she was afraid of the dark.

Passing a back alley at full stride, she suddenly heard someone speak, which alone made her flinch, because she thought she was all by herself out here. "Hey pretty lady," a gruff male voice cooed, "Why you out here alone?"

She turned around swiftly, putting her hand into her pocket to grip tightly the prized knife Sephiroth had given her. It felt moist. Was that just her own sweat?

Two men came out of the alleyway, both looking mid-thirties, drunken, belligerent. One was muscular and covered in filth, with a thick neck and evil, ice blue eyes. Just looking at him made her blood run cold. She guessed that he had been the one who spoke.

The other man was the opposite of his counterpart. He was short, gangly, and seemed to be along just for the thrill of following Muscle Man around. He had a crooked smile and mouselike, ebony eyes that darted back and forth so often that Arianna had the strongest urge to gouge them both out. "Yeah," he chimed in with the most annoying of singsong voices, "There are a lot of pervs out at night. It's not safe."

She didn't speak. All she did was stand tall, trying to look much braver than she felt inside. _Damn _her shaking knees. She was too honest, and she knew it. She had never been good at bluffing.

Muscle Man took a step forward, and Arianna prepared to take a step back. "Why ain't you runnin?" he asked, and she knew she was looking into the eyes of something without a speck of humanity in its soul. She pulled out her knife, praying silently to the night, 'Sephiroth, protect me.'

Pipsqueak coughed, but Muscle Man just laughed. "It's just as well," he said, knocking the knife out of her hands and covering her mouth before she had a chance to react. "I like it better when they struggle." Her heart skipped a shallow beat, and Pipsqueak snickered with delight. Amidst all the chaos in her brain, Arianna was able to notice that Pipsqueak uncannily resembled her sister.

She started to fight back, but Muscle Man had a strong hold, and he was starting to drag her back into the alley. Then his cover over her mouth faltered, and she took the opportunity to bite down on his hand. And she bit _**hard**_

Roaring in pain, Muscle Man temporarily let go of her, and she ran. Unfortunately, he was too fast for her, grabbing her hair full-bodied in his hand and ripping her back. The pain brought tears to her eyes. She shrieked, trying to claw at his face, which was ultimately unsuccessful, for he grabbed her wrists and slammed her against the brick alleyway wall. It crushed her, and although no bones felt broken, she was temporarily paralyzed.

She continued to scream, or, at least until the duct tape was put over her mouth and eyes. Now not able to see anything but black, she called out in despair for her silver-haired savior behind the muffling binding as her skirt was torn off.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth wasn't sure why, but he decided to take the longer and potentially _filthier _way home. For some reason, he could taste bad intentions on the air. It made him restless and angry. He wished he could slice through all the evil in this part of town, and put his vengeant bloodlust to rest.

Then he heard the sounds of a struggle, including a man's bellow in pain, and then... a woman's shriek in fear.

That woman! Her voice was so familiar, and the horror in it shook his bones to the core. His soul seemed to lurch in the direction of her cries, and a harsh voice in his head shouted, '_Find her._' He began to sprint, his gallop only getting faster as her screams cut out completely, the silence deafening him. He saw a large alleyway, and, sliding into view, he came upon a scene that gave him a horrible taste in his mouth.

There were three people there, and one of them kept bouncing around with delight, but, seeing Sephiroth, froze in shock. The other two were locked onto each other against a wall.

The one directly against the wall had duct tape over her eyes and mouth. The acid in his stomach churned when he recognized the beauty behind the binding. _No... Arianna!_ And she had been completely separated from her lower articles of clothing, stripping the once noble-looking girl of all her dignity.

The last person there, the one holding Arianna to the wall, was the most disgusting excuse for a human being that Sephiroth had ever laid his eyes upon. The man was dirty, smelly, and, worst of all, the son of a bitch was holding his hellish hard-on in his hand.

In the few milliseconds it took for the bastard rapist to react to Sephiroth's presence, the rage in Sephiroth's mind had crimsoned the edges of his vision to an unbelievably vicious extent. The Masumune had entered his hands from his belt so quickly that he hardly remembered removing it from its sheath.

In swift motions that could barely be seen to the ordinary human eye, Sephiroth took the rapist out. A quick jab through his heart was all that was needed, and Sephiroth had the hardest time getting the tip of the bloody sword out of the brick in the wall. On a pure murderous high, he wheeled his human shish-ka-bob into the air and flipped the carcass into a conveniently located open dumpster on the opposite side of the alley.

The smaller man hadn't moved from the spot where he had initially frozen, his eyes now bulging with fear. But the moment Sephiroth moved toward him, the man squealed like a frightened pig and tried to run away. The Masumune still in his hands, Sephiroth swung it through what appeared to have been just air. But he knew he hit substance; the delicious _squish _of the clean impact made it so.

The man's form hobbled for precious seconds, then toppled to the ground, a head that should have been connected rolling to rest a few meters away. Suddenly urging for the childhood he never had, Sephiroth ran up to the head like a hyperactive child and gave it a hard, soccer-like kick. The substance was tough against his foot, then crashed with a sickening thud into the dumpster.

Sephiroth's nostrils flared. He felt victorious, a lion who had just succeeded in removing the challengers from his territory, protecting his lioness. His lioness. Arianna! Was she alright? He looked back at her, only to find her curled in a tight ball on the ground, hugging her knees.

If he had had a sensitive heart, he knew it would have broken for the lovely young thing. It had been two years, but his appreciation for her appeal hadn't lessened at all. The poor girl.

He resheathed his sword, quietly picked up the headless body, and slipped it into the dumpster, gently closing the lid. Now it was just the two of them. Well, the two of them, Arianna's stray pieces of clothing on the ground, and the knife lying far off to the right.

He sighed, padding silently on the souls of his feet over to her crouched form. She was shaking. Shaking and sobbing. He reached out to take the duct tape off of her face, but the moment his fingertips touched her cheek, she lunged out. Her fingernails swiped across his forehead, leaving five bloody lines where she had removed the skin. He bared his teeth against the small bit of burning pain but didn't make a sound.

She lunged again, but this time he caught her wrist and held it in place. He could feel her heart beating. It was fluttering as quickly as the wings of a moth.

"Arianna," he mumbled softly, "it would be best if you'd stop struggling."

She froze. She had even stopped shaking. He reached out again and touched her face, but this time he met no resistance. He began to peel back the adhesive, trying not to hurt her too much. Her continuous tears made the removal of the tape much easier.

(Arianna's PoV)

She couldn't believe it. Was she just imagining Sephiroth's wonderful voice? Or had he really come to rescue her from this nightmare, just as she had asked him to? No... It wasn't just her wishful thinking, for when the covering was pulled off of her eyes, there he was to meet them. She could have sung from the relief that bubbled up inside her chest as he then took the tape off of her lips. But she didn't. She just kept crying, because her trauma and screaming had completely killed her voice.

Sephiroth may not have had any expression in his jaw, but there was plenty of compassion in his eyes. Be it real, or phantom, she didn't give a shit. On a stroke of resolution, she collapsed into his form, needing the comfort of open arms. She could tell he hadn't expected it; after all, they barely knew each other. After hesitating a minute, he finally wrapped her in a nervously gentle embrace.

It felt so good to be cared for, to be protected, as her tears soaked into his clothing. Because of him, her innocent psyche hadn't been shredded to bits, when she was sure she had been all alone. The hug became stronger, more concrete.

Arianna realized that she'd do anything for this man. She'd be anything. As long as he kept holding her like this. But then he let go of her, pushing her away just a bit so he could look her in the eyes. He rested his hands on her shoulders. "I'll get your things," he said reassuringly, as if he figured that she would hold it against him if he separated from her grasp. And he was right. She would have.

Then they got up, him gingerly picking up one article of her clothing after another, and handing them to her. As she slipped her undergarments on with shaking hands and wobbly knees, Sephiroth stood with his back turned to her a few meters away. He was being so chivalrous, so gentlemanly. He was when she knew he had no real _reason _to be.

"It looks like I got here just in time," he began softly, making conversation more to take the awkwardness out of the air than really _wanting _to talk. Arianna tried to respond, but her voice was still shot; all that came out was a small _squak _of a noise.

His head flinched its position. The noise had made him want to turn and look at her, but she knew that he hadn't because he wasn't sure whether or not she was decent yet. That simple fact made her smile, even though she was still distraught from the night's events.

Slipping on her skirt and fastening the tie, she looked up at him and said, "It's alright. You can turn around now." It was chalky and hoarse, but at least she had found her voice again. He turned and faced her, giving her the same smile that she had seen when he had first appeared in her doorway. It made her feel at home, which was the first time she had in years.

She hugged herself, rubbing her elbows nervously. She wanted the warmth of his arms again, but was too afraid to ask for it. "So, what happened to the rapists?" She knew it was a horrible question, and she would regret asking it, but she was just so damned _curious._

His answer was simple: "They're gone."

"You mean they got away from you?!"

"No."

"O-oh..." She hugged herself tighter, and that's when she saw the blood on the ground and the wall. She wasn't sure she liked that answer any better. The part that frightened her most was the fact that his expression never changed, despite the fact that he was speaking of murder.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth took a step toward her, but she flinched slightly. That hurt him. What was she upset about? Those men were horrid; neither of them deserved to live. He had to make her _understand _that.

"They're gone now," he said tenderly, walking towards her again. "And that's all that matters." He saw her eyes lock onto the closed dumpster. Then she shuddered. He rested a hand on her shoulder.

"It's not that. It's just that..." She averted her gaze to look into his eyes. Her cheeks were puffy, red, and moist. He wished he could kiss each of them, in turn.

"I never wanted to fancy you a killer."

He chuckled softly. "I work for Shinra. I kind of _have_ to be a killer."

She sighed, and he guessed that she had no will to argue. They embraced again.

"Arianna, I should take you home," he said gently.

She squeezed him lightly. "I'm all yours, Sephiroth. You can take me anywhere." Then she collapsed in his arms.

He laughed again. 'Don't worry, Arianna,' he thought with triumph, 'I will.'


	4. Lusty Fulfillment

(Arianna's PoV)

A light. A glorious, mystical light. That was the first to meet Arianna's hazy vision as she came slowly out of unconsciousness. That's when she realized she had no idea where she was. She could not really even recall how she had blacked out.

All she did seem to remember was that pair of strong, slender arms. The arms... that were _still _holding her, firmly pressing just under her breasts. All right, she was starting to remember.

She took in a breath, when her "captor" gently kissed her neck, his beautiful silver hair falling across her chest. Heh. Oh, yeah. She remembered _now._

Looking around her, without moving any muscles but her eyes, she surveyed her surroundings and was shocked to recognize the place.

They seemed to be immersed in a fantastic wood, every tree emitting that light that she had first seen. Just off to the right, there was also a beautiful pond as clear as glass. It seemed to glitter with a strange life all its own, even though there did not appear to be a single organism in the water. Beyond the pond was a giant sculpture, depicting a looming beast worshipped by peoples past.

She gasped lightly, whispering, "We're in the forgotten city!"

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth chuckled, tracing his initials on Arianna's chest with his fingernail. "You seem to know this place well," he mumbled into her ear, his breath warm against it. The girl kept quivering, wave after wave of goosebumps rubbing rough against his own skin, driving him crazy. Of course, he'd never let Arianna know that she aroused him so easily. It would most likely give her a big head.

"I've always wanted to come here, but have never gotten the chance..." She stopped, because his fingernail's dancing on her feminine pectorals had caused her nipples to harden. Just when they began to look like Hershey's kisses under her shirt, she crossed her arms across her chest, hoping he wouldn't see. But it was too late. It was all over for her now.

He moved out from underneath her, so she wouldn't be able to notice how tough and springy he had become. Now all he had to do was wait. Wait and work his magic.

(Arianna's PoV)

"Um, Sephiroth?" Arianna began, her arms still folded across her chest. Dammit, how embarrassing.

"Yes," he cooed back, those beautiful Mako eyes locking onto her form. Holy shit, she _already_ felt undressed.

"We haven't... uh... _done_ anything, have we?"

He held out a hand to her. "No," he answered gently, pulling her up to her feet. Then his predatory instincts took him over, and he quickly interlocked her in his arms, her chest slamming up against his. The breath was knocked out of her.

"At least, not yet. I plan on changing that," he whispered gruffly, implanting his lips onto hers.

Arianna had quite a bit of trouble getting her oxygen back. Between the combination of realizing what Sephiroth's words really _meant_ and the new, very active tongue that had just entered her mouth, she had pretty much forgotten how to breathe. When she _did _react, however, her breathing came fast, and it came hard.

Their tongues danced for what seemed like an eternity, more or less. Then that annoying brain function called a conscience started inwardly kicking her with ardour, squealing, 'Wake up, moron! Think about what you're doing!' At first she tried ignoring the nuisance, but it steadily occurred to her that maybe her philosophical pain in the ass was right.

She began to pull away, regretting every millimeter of contact that was lost between them. She tried to speak, but couldn't, because Sephiroth kept nibbling on her bottom lip, and she couldn't help but silently embrace the sweet tingling sensation.

When he did finally stop, her knees began to shake, and her eyelids fluttered. It was a good thing he was holding her so tightly, or else her nerves would have caused her to fall to the ground.

"Oh, Sephiroth..." she mumbled, laying her head against his chest. "This shouldn't be happening."

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"And why not?" he asked heavily, putting a finger under her chin, so that he could tilt up her head so she would have to look him _directly _in the eyes. Years of experience had taught him that his quarry was much more likely to succumb to him if their gazes were locked. He also knew that that was the exact reason why Arianna's eyes began to wander away from his face. She had cleverly calculated his tactics, and was now devising a way to resist them. Her own modest brilliance was making him desire her flesh all the more. "Explain to me what immoral act we're committing here."

"Well, I..." She hesitated, for he guessed that she understood that dissuading him from his prize would not be an easy task. He took the opportunity to stroke her bottom lip with his tongue, back and forth, up and down. He watched her pupils dilate from sheer deliriousness, and it made him ecstatic to have such a profound effect on this girl. But then she pulled away, hard this time, her eyes serious.

"You didn't let me finish," she declared forcefully. It greatly surprised him. "I barely know you, and..."

He interrupted her with a simple smirk, and it looked like she lost her train of thought. "Don't you think it's a little late to try and use _that _excuse?"

"Th-that's not all," she stammered, blinking a few times before continuing somewhat apprehensively. "I've never... actually... uhm..." Her face was redder than it had been when they had first met, a feat he hadn't thought possible.

(Arianna's PoV)

"You're still a virgin."

It wasn't a question, or an expression of surprise. It was a solid statement, as if he had known all along. That irked her. What, was it written across her forehead? Did it say something like, 'This loser can't get laid by anybody,' or, 'Screw this girl, please. You'd be the first!'?

"Am I that obvious?" she asked self-consciously. He chuckled softly, pulling her close again. She fought less and less, every move he made. He was persistent, and her resistance was draining. After all, he was a _magnificent _specimen, and he wanted her, obviously. She knew losing her innocence would happen sometime and somehow, voluntarily or involuntarily. So, why not now?

"I prefer it this way," he answered, running his fingers through her hair. It felt good on her sore scalp. "It will be much more memorable for the both of us."

"But..."

Then he scooped her up in his arms, and she felt helpless, like an infant, limp and poised above the ground. Helplessness scared her, a lot. And that look of vampiric hunger in his eyes didn't make her feel any braver, either.

"Arianna," he muttered huskily, "we both know that the animal attraction between us is incredibly strong, and neither of us is willing to deny it." That was true. "You resisting an animal urge is ultimately pointless. Whether your mind chooses yes or no, your body will dictate that the outcome is the same."

Arianna didn't respond. There was no way to.

"And," he added quietly, "if I was really intent upon damaging you, don't you think I would have by now?"

It was all over for her now. She sighed, losing most of her inhibitions, relaxing her body. She kissed that part of his chest that _always _seemed to be revealed in his suit, and realized just how firmly in shape he was. "I give up. It's not worth struggling anymore. Do your worst."

His next laugh was booming, much lower in pitch, as if it had come straight from his loins. That laugh made the previously dormant butterflies in her stomach flutter about wildly.

"I will," he said, grinning with sick triumph, bending down to lay her again in the velveteen grass. "But don't worry. I don't plan on hurting you... much."

She sucked in a breath, and that's when she noticed something incredibly strange about her suitor. His pupils were not the black spheres that changed circumference sizes as most do. Instead, his moved in such a way that it appeared that they caved in from the sides. They were unhuman. Catlike. She blinked a few times, reveling in the exotic feeling she got.

But then the time finally came, and he gently stripped her of her clothes, and her last defenses along with them. A beautiful gust of wind brushed across the land, so that Arianna, now suddenly chilled, curled up like a babe in the grass. The gesture made Sephiroth lick his lips.

When he undressed himself, which Arianna had always assumed was close to impossible, she tried to resist the urge, but ended up looking down at his member anyway. Her eyes widened, and her jaw dropped slightly. _Holy... _he... he was huge! And she thought his _sword _was long! No wonder he was so cocky all the time! Then she giggled nervously to herself. Cocky - _BAAAD _dirty pun.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "Something I should know about?"

She was ashamed, and automatically tried sobering up. What was _wrong _with her?

"No," she cooed, pulling him down on top of her. His large stature seemed to completely engulf her. "It's just good to know that all your proportions are correct."

"Hmph."

Putting his right hand under her lower back for support, he took her right leg with his other hand and draped it around his waist, where it rested lightly on his left hip. Now she could feel the hot head of his arousal touching the entrance of the "cave" it was about to enter. Her breathing was coming fast again. She curled the toes of her right foot, and felt Sephiroth's gloriously thick hair inbetween them.

"I'm just warning you," she breathed into his neck, "I'm probably not very good. I haven't had any practice."

He didn't respond at first, but then he began to push ever-so-slightly, and whispered, "You talk too much. For once, experience and don't tell me _what _you experienced. Remember, I'm experiencing it too."

He quickly pushed harder, and it stung badly. The sharpness of the pain made her bite her lip. But she knew that a lot of experiences became sweet once the sourness wore off. So did a lot of hard candies.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth was glad that Arianna's eyes were closed. That way she wouldn't be able to see the sadistic giddiness in his eyes. He had known that taking her would be painful for her, but he couldn't have anticipated that piercing her innocence with his manhood would give him such a thrill.

With his first swift thrust, his pupils dilated and his nostrils flared. He took in all her scents: her sweat, her fear, her excitement, her perfume. It smelled of geranium leaves. Beautiful, red geraniums. The red of heat. The red of passion.

'Listen to me,' he thought to himself, 'I sound like one of those sappy, uninteresting romance novels.' That's just what he needed. For his life to be a romance novel.

He began a steady repetitive motion, moving in and out of her at an upward angle, going slowly at first, then picking up speed when she responded positively to him. He planned on making the night last.

'Soak it up, girl,' he thought smugly to himself. 'You'll never have sex better than mine. I'll make sure of that.'

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna had begun to make noises. Once the first inaugural pains had subsided, she couldn't help it. This was so much better than she had imagined.

She would never admit it to Sephiroth, but she had masturbated before, so she thought she had a vague idea of what sex would be like. She was _dead _wrong.

Masturbatory pleasure was a bit like rubbing two pieces of static cloth together. The indulgent friction would build and build until a spark was finally created. It was satisfying without much strenuous effort, but ultimately a temporary fix.

Loving a man, on the other hand, (or _this _man, anyway,) was different. The pleasure was poured on in hot, thick layers, like sweet molasses. Her body felt heavy while her head felt light. Once, she squeezed Sephiroth so hard with her legs that she could swear she'd get bruises on her thighs later. Ecstasy kept coursing through her body, one streak after another.

Then it came. _She _came. The orgasm was so strong, infact, that her body jerked in reflex, as if to say "enough" to her lover, who might be giving her _too much _pleasure. But his hold on her was strong, and he wasn't letting go for the world.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth felt the girl's body shudder with her first climax, and he thought it absolutely delicious. He knew that now, her first post-orgasmic impulse would be to separate from him, but he wouldn't allow it. He was going to exhaust their bodies, bring them both to their full physical potential.

He lowered his mouth to kiss her, when he saw that the euphoria had brought tears to her eyes. Without really thinking, he quenched the desire to lick the salty liquid off her cheeks, extracting a gentle moan from her lips.

The simple motion affected him so much more than he had expected. He had tasted her heart on his tongue, all the pleasure and pain she had ever gone through. There was more pain than any other emotion. Suddenly, his chest ached for the seemingly vulnerable beauty. The girl's quiet strength and good will towards most made him realize that she deserved a much better life than she currently had.

He continued his enraptured movements, making her climax twice more, until he finally came himself. He was more peaceful than he had been in years.

Slipping himself tenderly out of her, he hugged her close, now sure about his decision. He was taking her home with him.

(Arianna's PoV)

For awhile, they just lay in the grass, holding each other, saying nothing. Sephiroth's embrace was incredibly warm, and for a moment, Arianna wondered if his body was as happily sore as hers was.

She rolled over, her body facing his, and rested her cheek against his chest. She was surprised at how willing this big boy was to cuddle. Not that she had any personal experience in the matter, but she had always heard that most men liked to get in and out of the sack as quickly as possible, fearing intimate contact. But not Sephiroth.

No, it seemed that he really knew what women wanted, which made her wonder just how many he had been with. Would she just be another name on that list? She hugged him tighter. Why was she feeling so jealous and protective so soon? Well, she couldn't exactly lay claim to this gorgeous hunk of man --- they hadn't even had dinner yet.

Sephiroth buried his face in her neck, his hot breath hitting all her ticklish spots. She squirmed a bit, trying really hard not to burst into a girlish fit of giggles. Strange how it seemed like they had been together forever, that this night might just be one in a slew of many.

In that instant, she grew horribly sad at the thought of this being the last time she may ever experience his sweet caress. She looked up into his eyes, which were soft and objective. Apparently _she _was going to have to deal with the emotional decisions.

"So," she began miserably, "I suppose you'll be dropping me off in Nibelheim after this, and we'll never see each other again..."

He smirked, showing that he wasn't one to fall for pitiful gestures. "Is that what you want, Arianna?"

She sat up, hugging her knees. "Frankly, no. That's the _last _thing I want."

He sat up too, pulling her back against him. "I couldn't agree more."

"So," she interjected, her eyes growing playful. "How do we get out of this predicament?"

He kissed her cheek, sucking lightly on the skin. "My door's always open."

"You're inviting me into your home?"

"I'm inviting you into my home."

Arianna smiled, looking down at the ground. That was exactly what she wanted to hear.

There was silence for awhile, then she heard Sephiroth mumble, "What's my house going to be like with a silly teenager in its walls?"

"Hey now," she retorted, "I'm not going to be a teenager much longer --- I turn twenty this year. How old are you?"

(Sephiroth's PoV)

He smiled. "I'm twenty-three."

"Really? Cause I could have sworn you were at least..."

"...In my thirties?" he finished, laughing. Why did people always think that? "I'm not _that _old."

Arianna frowned, then made a gesture like she was slapping herself. He raised an eyebrow. So dramatic.

"Maybe it's just because your hair is silver."

"Well, I can't help that. It's been that way since I was born."

"Yeah," she muttered, looking away. Sephiroth kissed her forehead, nuzzling her with his cheek.

"Don't worry. You're not the only one who's thought that. I suppose I'm just naturally mature-looking. And, people have told me that, when I anger, my age pretty much inverts its numbers."

Arianna shuddered. 'I'd hate to see you angry. You're scary enough as it is."

"Hey," he replied when she started laughing, "you don't have the grounds to insult me yet. We haven't been together long enough. And besides..." He tilted her chin up with his finger. "...What're _you _doing sleeping with a thirty-year-old man, anyway?"

Arianna shooed his hand away and coughed, making excessive hacking noises. "Okay, subject change!"

Sephiroth relaxed himself a bit more. He loved the fact that he almost always had the last laugh. Nature had given him the gift of a perceptive mind and a sharp tongue. And the best part was that he could say anything to anyone, because no one seemed brave enough to put him in his place. Luckily, though, Arianna appeared to be the type of girl with a fleshy hide, someone who wasn't overly-sensitive to harmless comments.

"So... what's your house like?" she asked.

He shrugged. "It's not very personalized. Shinra's got me running my ass off in so many different locations that I hardly have time to make the place mine. It's not even a home to me, really. It's just a bed, a bathroom, and a refrigerator."

"Hmm.." she mumbled, repeatedly kissing his chest. Her hand started trailing lower. "Looks like I've got my work cut out for me."


	5. The Days of Our Lives

(Arianna's PoV)

When Arianna awoke, she found herself in the pleasant rumble of a moving vehicle. Instinctively, she peered over at the one in the driver's seat. Sephiroth was there, staring very intently at the road. He must have sensed her eyes, though, because one of his hands left the steering wheel to rest on her thigh. She set her hand on top of it.

"So, Arianna," Sephiroth began softly, "Do you have any luggage, accessories, or the like that we need to pick up before I take you to your new home?"

"Yeah," she replied, squeezing his hand. "There are a few suitcases of mine at the Days Inn."

He smirked. "The Days Inn, huh?"

She gave him a sour look. "Yes, the Days Inn. I'm not a millionaire, just so you know, and I figured that I might as well not shell out a bunch of gil on a fancy hotel when I hadn't planned on staying in Midgar that long."

"Alright, alright," he said lightly, pinching her thigh. "Don't bite my head off. I just think it's funny hearing you talk about plans. Your plans have definitely changed, haven't they?"

She leaned over and kissed his cheek, whispering, "And it's all thanks to you, you perverted bastard."

Sephiroth laughed, and his hand moved from her thigh to inbetween her legs. "You haven't _seen _perverted yet."

After they had picked up her things, checked her out of the motel, and were back on the road, Arianna was hit with a burning streak of curiosity, and just had to ask: "So, how'd we end up in a truck?"

Sephiroth chuckled. "Oh, come on. Do you think we _walked _to the Forgotten City?"

"You were on foot when you rescued me."

"That's because I wasn't that far from home."

"So, you saved me, and when I went unconscious, you carried me all the way to your house, just to stick me in the truck so you could drive me to the perfect sex spot?"

"You were out for quite awhile."

She looked out the window, smiling at all the effort he had made. "That was really sweet. Men never go half-ass when they have the opportunity to bang somebody, do they?" She turned her head back around.

Sephiroth took his eyes off the road for just a moment, only to give Arianna the most sarcastic look she had ever seen. "It's definitely a prize worth working for."

She went back to gazing out the window. The relationship still had a long way to go, and yet they were already bickering like an old married couple. Being around Sephiroth made Arianna realize just how much she was loving life, and just how differently she'd feel if he hadn't been there to rescue her from that alleyway.

"We're here," he said quietly.

It was a two-story building, nicer than all the others in the area. And even though it was an urban home, while she was used to dreaming of beautiful villas in the countryside, she still couldn't find anything wrong with it. It was beautiful in its own way.

For a moment she and Sephiroth fought over who would take her luggage in, one trying to be terribly gracious to the other. In the end, Sephiroth won, which Arianna didn't mind --- after all, she didn't feel like carrying anything anyway.

He gave her the key, and she opened the door, coming upon a surprisingly modest home. Sephiroth followed her in, setting down the suitcases and closing the door. She turned to look at him, smiling from ear to ear.

"Make yourself comfortable," he said suggestively, "Because you're going to be here awhile." Then he grinned, looking pretty damn sexy as he flipped the lock behind him.

She explored the lower floor, finding a living room, dining room, kitchen, and one-person bathroom, complete with a shower very much like hers in Nibelheim. Then she went up the stairs, which had a beautiful dogwood railing, with a Chinese dragon carved into every pole.

On the upstairs floor, she found a bedroom, with a very expensive-looking bed. It must have been the most extravagant thing in the whole house, aside from its owner. But she didn't examine it in great detail; she knew Sephiroth would make her "test it out" before the day's end.

She also found another bathroom, this one with an extremely large bathtub, one of those old behemoths with the toed porcelain feet.

Then, coming into the last room upstairs, her eyes widened. "For Holy's sake..." she whispered. Everything was caked in a fine layer of dust. If dust were really made of dead skin, then there should have been enough here to make a whole family of skeletons happy.

"Sephiroth?" she called behind her.

"What?" he asked, sticking his head in the doorway.

She ran one finger along a particularly nasty shelf, holding up the now dust-covered digit in his face. "Look at this!"

"You're right," he said after awhile of observation, then suddenly grabbed her hand. "If you turn all of your fingers upside-down, then it looks like they have a heart in the middle of each of their pads." Then he laughed.

She pulled her hand away. "I meant the dust, not my fingerprints. Couldn't you have hired a cleaning lady?"

He smiled at her. "It's only been minutes, and already you're starting to nag."

She looked down at the floor, wiping the dust on her pant leg. "Sorry. I'll try to watch that."

"And besides," he chided, stepping up to hug her. "What do I need a cleaning lady for when I've got something even better: a girlfriend!"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

"Nothing." Then he scooped her off her feet, nuzzling his face in her chest. "Shouldn't we consummate your coming to live here?"

She sighed. Horny men were so predictable. "Alright, if I have to."

Arianna's relationship with Sephiroth grew, if not somewhat slowly. Since they had had sex before really getting to know one another, they completely screwed up the steps in the relationship process, and had to try to start their knowledges of each other from scratch, always having their desires to fall back upon when words failed them.

But Arianna didn't like having to use sex as a way of getting close to Sephiroth emotionally, so she tried to create an almost platonic friendship with him, even completely depriving him of release on occasions. Of course, feeling guilty and frustrated herself, she'd usually give it to him double the next day.

Surprisingly enough, though, they got along well, and pretty soon their emotions began to mold one another, and Arianna could happily say that there was more behind their relationship than just physical attachment.

Of course, they still had disagreements, and those were just as well. Argument was needed to be able to cultivate a healthy romantic relationship.

One of the biggest problems she had with Sephiroth, she had to say, was that he was an extreme workaholic. It was always Shinra this, Shinra that. He would always blame anything wrong on Shinra, also praising it on occasion. It started to get under her skin, and she sort of snapped one night when Sephiroth asked her if she wanted to go to a party Shinra was throwing.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"HELL. NO."

"Bu...but, why not?" He couldn't believe it. It was one of the biggest Shinra social functions of the year, and any girl he had ever known would have jumped at the offer. Save for this one.

Arianna crossed her arms and looked away from him. "I know that the _minute _all those people see me with _you_, they'll automatically judge me."

Sephiroth smirked. _That_ was the reason? "So what? It's not like their opinions matter."

She made a strange noise, as if she begged to differ. She seemed appalled that he had even said such a thing. "Are you kidding?! Anyone with close ties to Shinra is a top dog in the political food chain. What if they don't like me, and I'm abducted in the middle of the night?"

The smirk turned into a snigger. "You're paranoid."

"Pfh. Whatever."

"I need a date."

"Yeah, right! I don't think anyone will mind if the great General doesn't bother himself with a female tag-along."

"And," he began, trying to devise some way to get her to say yes, "there are going to be plenty of other women there. Don't you want to make sure that none of them flirt with me?"

"Me being there won't stop you from flirting with other women."

"Are you saying I'm a womanizer?!"

"I'm saying you're a man-whore!"

He blinked, dumbfounded and speechless, then he burst out laughing. He had heard that silly expression before, but it had never been directed toward him. And hearing it from Arianna's lips...Well, laughing seemed the only appropriate reaction. But Arianna didn't seem pleased. She was becoming red in the face.

"All right," he said slowly, as her angry flush deepened, "enough fooling around. You're coming with me to this party."

"No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are."

At one point he actually tried using physical force, but he only got as far as dragging Arianna, kicking and screaming, to the top of the staircase, before he gave up in frustration. The girl was just making too much _noise_. Dogs were beginning to howl outside.

"Fine," he shouted, letting her go. He began walking down the stairs, but when he got to the door, he looked up at her, still red and now with a disgusted look on her face, and smiled.

"I guess you'll just have to wear these some other time." Then he tossed a small package up to her with force, watching her clumsily catch it in surprise. She opened it, and he took great pleasure in seeing her jaw drop as she took out a pair of the finest ruby earrings he could find at the jewelry store.

But before she could react in any way except to look at him in amazement, he said, "See you later," and closed the door behind him as he left. He _loved_ doing things like that to her. Of course, he'd probably never hear the end of it when he got home. But, that would be _many _hours from now.


	6. Blood and Chess Pieces

On a random day in October, Sephiroth entered the house in a good mood, wanting to celebrate the fact that it was Friday, and that he and Arianna could have the whole weekend to themselves without interruption.

"Arianna, are you ready?" he called. "Cause tonight we're going to any place in town to eat. You just name it!"

He didn't get any answer, which confused him a bit.

"Arianna?" He looked all downstairs, but couldn't find her anywhere. Then he walked up the staircase, and, hearing rustling in the weapons room, opened the door.

Arianna was on a dusting spree once again, her duster flying around the room like some medieval torture device. He coughed, either to get her attention or from all the dust that he inhaled, he wasn't entirely sure.

Seeing him standing there, she bounced up and practically tackle-hugged him. "Just in time!" she said cheerfully.

He raised an eyebrow in confusion. "In time for what?"

"To help me clean the high spots I can't normally reach."

(Arianna's PoV)

"Oh, sweety, I'm tired," he replied, creating a very good yawn for the situation.

She put her hands on her hips. He wasn't getting off that easily. "Please?"

"Not right now."

"Come on, there's got to be something I can bribe you with."

"I don't think so."

"How about dinner?"

"We're eating out tonight, remember?"

"Sex?"

He smirked. "I'll get that from you no matter what."

She thought for a moment. Then fishing through her pocket for her last resort, she pulled out a candy bar she had been saving for later. "I know," she declared. "You'll do it for chocolate, right?"

He crossed his arms, trying to hide the wanting glint in his eyes. "You've got to be kidding."

She smiled. She knew he didn't get chocolate that often, and he usually reacted strangely when he did. She shook it back in forth, taking pleasure in watching his eyes desperately follow the source of sugar.

"It's nutty!" she taunted.

"It's not the only thing that's nutty," he huffed under his breath.

Arianna cupped a hand around her ear playfully. "What was that?"

He looked at her in disgust for a moment, then grabbed the chocolate bar out of her hands, saying, "You annoy me. Greatly."

He grabbed the duster and set to work, cleaning the high shelves that Arianna, feeling dwarfed compared to him, couldn't dream of touching herself without some sort of aid. She smiled, wishing that she could stick him in a pair of high heels and an apron, calling him her little housewife.

But she wouldn't, because she could see that he was aggravated enough as it was, and he might not be afraid to put her in her place if he felt the need.

"You know," she chided as he worked, "It's a good thing you don't know what to bribe _me_ with."

He stopped dusting and looked at her. "Now you've got me curious."

She rocked onto her toes. "Well, chess was always one of my major weaknesses."

He looked at her, a bit confused. "What's that?"

She blinked. Had she heard him right? "You know, the boardgame?"

"Oh. Never played it before in my life."

Her jaw dropped. He couldn't be serious! ...Could he?

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"You're kidding me!"

He looked away from her. The shocked pity in her voice annoyed him greatly. So what if he hadn't had a normal childhood? What would that have brought him? Arianna seemed to have had one, and _she _hadn't accomplished anything great.

And yet, it rubbed up against a very old raw spot inside of him, because he knew that he had been deprived of the innocence that his peers had always held in their grasp. In their efforts to make Sephiroth a human superweapon, the scientists and employees of Shinra had completely forgotten to introduce him to the simple pleasures in life. And now Arianna knew it.

"That is so cool!"

Caught by surprise, he looked back into her eyes, only to see a mischievous glitter in their chocolate depths.

"I _finally_ know something you don't!"

Dumbfounded, he began to laugh at her unpredictability.

(Arianna's PoV)

"What's so funny?" Arianna stuck out her lip, trying to look sulky and hurt. She failed miserably. Then, giggling along with her lover, she grabbed her purse and headed toward the door. His light-hearted chuckling stopped immediately.

"Where are you going?" he asked, his eyes full of ready-made dejection, just in case she was leaving him for good. And he said _she _was the drama queen.

"To the store," she answered playfully. "I'm the most evangelistic chess player you'll ever meet, and this opportunity gives me an excuse to buy that new set I had my eyes on."

His eyes shone relief, then, realizing he had revealed the vulnerability she knew he abhorred so much, he put on his mask of wry humor again, crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow.

"Chess is _that _fun of a game?"

She smirked. "Oh yeah," she began, strutting slowly up to him. "And if you know how to play it _right_, it can be down-right naughty."

He found his laugh again. "I always assumed that chess was a stuffy nerds' game."

"You have no idea how kinky nerds get in their spare time."

"Oooh..." he hissed, as if the very thought sizzled him. "Don't tempt me." Then he brought her close, their lips locking. But when his hot tongue parted her lips, she pulled away.

"Now now," she chided, pretending to straighten herself up after she was out of his clutches. "I can't go to the _store_ looking all hot and bothered. It might traumatize the little kiddies."

Sephiroth grinned savagely, taking one big step forward to rest his forehead gently against hers. "What are you talking about? You're nineteen. You're still a little kiddy yourself."

His presence was so intense that it disoriented her. Arianna had been with Sephiroth for quite some time, and yet he still overwhelmed her on various occasions. Her spirit had to learn to become stronger, or else she feared she'd drown in those glowing eyes.

Disappointed by her own weakness, she smiled half-heartedly, pushed herself away from him, and headed for the door again, her playfulness gone.

"I'll be anxiously awaiting your return," she heard him say suggestively, then left to regain her senses.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth turned the knob on the bathtub faucet, letting the cold water splash over him. He felt emotionally exhausted, and he hoped that lying in what felt like a giant witch's cauldron would help him collect his nerves. That way he might feel prepared when that headcase who called herself Arianna came home. Amazing how in such a short period of time Sephiroth already felt that the temperamental girl was an integral part of his existence.

He reached for the bar of soap, then cried out to the empty house. _Pain. _Extreme pain. His body temperature was rising. His blood was boiling. There was an unbelievable pressure in him, fixing to explode from every tip of his form.

The stinging red liquid began to flow from his eye sockets, and the whole world faded from his vision. Just as he was losing consciousness, just before he unwillingly gave in to the pain, he thought, 'No, not again! Arianna... where are you?'

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna kicked the door open, a full grocery bag in each arm, and some mail from her cousin in her mouth. She was incidentally perkier than when she had left. Setting everything down on the table, she called out, "Sephi, I'm home! I know you missed me!"

No sarcastic answer. No answer at all.

'Huh,' she thought to herself, 'that's funny.' She then went exploring.

"Sephiroth?"

Well, it was established. He was nowhere downstairs. Starting to walk up the stairs, she called out his name again. Still nothing.

But when she touched the seventh step, she touched water, and by the time she got to the top of the staircase, her feet were soaking wet. Now she was getting scared. The entire hallway was flooded. She ran straight for the bathroom door, but when she was at it, she looked down again at the water that was now knee deep, and shrieked out in terror. The water was stained red with blood. _**His **__blood._

She flung the door open, to meet a sight that made panic instantly overtake her mind. Blood was everywhere, thick in the water and splashing against the walls. And there he was, splayed at an unnatural angle in the tub, his body experiencing extreme convulsions. She rushed over to him, fear bringing tears to her eyes. She turned off the faucet by instinct, and looked at him.

Blood was coming out of every available oraphus on his body. His eyes were open, but they were so far back in his head that she could only see the whites.

"SEPHIROTH!" she screamed, crying in full force. He didn't respond. "_SEPHIROTH!" _ she screamed again, grabbing his shoulders and pulling his torso upright.

At first it seemed useless, but then the greens of his eyes came back into focus, his pupils only slits of their former selves. Even though his gaze was indistinct, once he registered her identity and presence, he tried to speak.

"Ari-" was all he managed to say, because more blood came gushing out of his mouth, choking him.

"What do I DO?!" she shrieked.

He had only enough strength left to point a shaky hand at the medicine cabinet on the right wall, and that's when she noticed that all of his fingernails had been overturned from the inside-out.

Arianna hurried to the cabinet, opening it to find a large black bottle labeled _emergency_. It had no instructions. It would have helped to have had instructions.

Having absolutely no time to dwell, she fled back over to the tub, opening the bottle and pouring a portion in, directly over his legs. The moment the bluish-black liquid touched the bloody water, the red seemed to expel itself in all directions away from the offensive formula. Still holding the bottle in one hand, she grabbed Sephiroth by the hair and pushed him under the water, holding him there for about fifteen seconds, hoping she was right.

Already she felt his quaking lessen. Then his hand grabbed hers, and she brought him slowly back out of the water. Almost to the point of hyperventilation, Arianna was so relieved when her pale lover coughed, wiped his mouth with the back of his injured hand, and gave her a weak smile. The bleeding had stopped, and he actually seemed like he'd be okay.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth could barely hold his head up. He had lost so much blood, enough to kill any other person. But he wasn't just any other person. He was different. He had been from the moment he was born, but he wasn't sure why. He intended on finding out, though.

He looked into the eyes of the beautiful creature standing beside him. Her outline kept getting fuzzy. He was so weak.

"Arianna," he muttered, bringing her closer. He saw that her body was drenched in his blood, and it almost made him sick.

"I'm fading out," he whispered, but when he saw another line of tears stream down her face, he chuckled softly. "Don't worry, my love. I'm just going to sleep. My body needs to regenerate what's been lost." He moved to touch her cheek, but, seeing his mutilated fingernails, set his hand back down again.

Laying his head back against the tub, he relaxed his sore body, mumbling to Arianna, "I thank the heavens for you." Then he slept. Deeply.


	7. Fire and Ice

When he awoke, at first he was unsure of his whereabouts. Why were his surroundings so cold? And why did he feel dehydrated, like an old raisin? Then it all came back to him, slowly. The blood, the pain, Arianna... Arianna! She had been there; she had saved him. But where was she now?

Looking down at himself, he realized that he was still in the bathroom. Still in the bath _tub_, for that matter. And he was still naked, though Arianna's favorite blanket had been draped over him. It was so soft, so warm, and it smelled of her. That sweet, subtle scent was almost drowned out by the stench of his near-death and the harsh cleaners used to get through the mess. But holding the soft fabric up to his face was just enough to soothe his mind and keep his sanity intact.

Suddenly Sephiroth realized that his hair follicles were being gently tugged at, almost as if his hair was being... _brushed_. Tilting his head slightly, he looked out of the corner of his eye. Sure enough, sitting cross-legged on the floor was Arianna, with her head bowed, running a brush through his silver hair.

A woman had never brushed his hair before. It was so simple, and yet so _soothing_. What a subtle display of affection. But then he noticed droplets of moisture that were falling onto the sheet that was his hair. Droplets that were falling straight from the tip of Arianna's nose.

"You've been crying," he said tentatively. She started, jerking her head up, revealing two red, puffy eyes. Then she smiled, a smile that was pure relief. It was a beautiful smile.

"Sephiroth..." she whispered, rising slowly, then breaking into a full run, hugging him with such force that his sore body banged up against the side of the tub. Grimacing in pain, all he could do was wonder why this adorable woman's love seemed to hurt him so much.

"I'd love if you gave me my airpipe back," he muttered pleasantly. He was in a surprisingly good mood, despite his recent trauma. Maybe it was the fact that his head was still so cloudy that all of his thought processes were at about half their normal speed. His whole situation made him smile.

He felt her body heave a great sob, and then she mumbled, "Sorry," releasing her hold on him to look him in the eyes.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna noticed that, when she looked into her lover's eyes, they were much more glazed than usual. The sharpness of the academic in him was currently dulled, and the glitter of the cynic's humor had vanished, leaving only the happy shine of an ordinarily pleasant person. She was surprised at how different he seemed. She was also ashamed to admit that, deep down inside, she liked him better this way. He seemed so much more human.

"You've been crying," he repeated. "I'd wipe your tears myself, but..." Then he grew solemn, holding up his hand palm out, looking at his grotesque fingers. Arianna had a sharp intake of breath. His hands were ordinarily so beautiful. But now... oh, she couldn't imagine how painful it all was for him.

Then suddenly, without warning, Sephiroth took one nail in between his teeth and quickly ripped it off, breaking the few tendons left that were keeping the poor thing attached. Arianna shrieked, because the swift motion made a very small jet of blood squirt out, narrowly missing her favorite blanket. Her mother had made her that blanket before she was born. She'd go ballistic if it got a stain as permanent as blood on it. In fact, she loved that blanket more than she loved her own sister.

'Well,' she thought to herself, 'that's not exactly setting the bar high.'

But then she heard him curse under his breath with the nail still in his teeth, and saw a single tear roll down his cheek from the pain, so she momentarily forgot about her precious Blanky.

She held out her hand under his mouth. For some strange reason, he looked at her like a mischievous toddler caught with a crayon in his mouth before dropping the nail onto her palm.

For the rest of forty-five minutes, Arianna sat on the edge of the tub, consecutively pulling off his fingernails one by one, then putting a band-aid on each one of his sensitive digits. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them needed to. Enough communication was transmitted between his scowls and her "bared-teeth" looks of sympathetic disgust.

She could have interrogated him then, asking him hoards of the questions that were burning inside her. But she knew he didn't have the energy to answer them, which frankly meant that she lost the energy to ask them.

When at last, wrapping up his last nailless finger, she sighed, saying, "There. All done!"

Sephiroth then got a silly little smile on his face, (or at least _his_ version of silly,) mumbling, "Not quite." She saw him childishly wiggle his toes, which she had failed to notice had also been deformed in the incident. She sighed again, hung her head, and started her next assignment.

But she didn't feel like reverting back to pure silence, so she began, "You called me 'My Love' the other day, before going unconscious."

He looked into her eyes and blinked. "And?"

"I've just... never heard those words from you before."

His gaze moved to the ceiling. "Well, you have to remember, I was delirious when I said it."

"I liked it," she muttered, running her finger lightly along the sole of his foot. He made a small noise and jerked his foot away, giving her a scornful look. She grinned. Uh-oh. She had found a ticklish spot. "It reminded me of a time when men were actually chivalrous to women, instead of just treating us like unintelligent pieces of meat."

Sephiroth smiled, suddenly grabbing her and pulling her in on top of him. The blanket was soft under her stomach.

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't think _you're _an unintelligent piece of meat." Arianna happily rested her head against his chest.

"You talk too much for that."

They laughed together, her head rising and falling with his chest. Then, when the atmosphere was calm again, she sat up, looked him playfully in the eyes, and asked, "Do you want your toes fixed up, or not?"

Kissing her nose lightly, Sephiroth mumbled, "Fix away."

Chess. Sweet board-gaming.

Breaking out the new set she bought at the store, Arianna couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement at the mental challenges that were to come. Its highly-polished cedar casing shined at her with the promise of nerdy pleasure. And when she opened it for the first time, the smell of her geek past filled her nostrils to give her a small sense of stoic euphoria.

After setting up the design, she hurried up the staircase to help her lover down. Their steps were tentative, for she knew that too much activity would irritate Sephiroth's sensitive toes.

"This is humiliating," he whispered to himself, obviously thinking that the fuzzy bathrobe and house-shoes he adorned weren't the most honorable attire.

"Oh, _come on_. You know the stuff you normally wear wouldn't do any good for your body. Where else are you supposed to relax if not in your own home?"

"Sure, I'll agree. But _these_..." He looked down at his feet. "I feel so shameful."

Arianna shook her head. He could be so hopeless sometimes. "I think it's good for you to have a change in wardrobe anyway. Whenever you're not naked and sweaty, you're in skin-tight leather and heavy metal."

"Excuse me," he retorted, sitting down at the table with the chess board upon it, "but I _like _what I wear."

She plopped down across from him, saying, "And that's fine with me. It's just that, well --- you can only pull off the bad-ass image for so long. Then it's time to move on. You know?"

He looked down at the board. "I'll show _you _bad-ass..." he muttered gruffly under his breath. She giggled. _Hopeless_.

For minutes in silence, Sephiroth never moved. He just sat there, looking angrily at the chess pieces, as if they had been the ones to insult him. Arianna sighed. She would _not _let his bad attitude ruin her game.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"So, are we gonna play, or not?"

He looked up into her eyes. He wouldn't forget that bad-ass comment. "Teach me."

"Okay..." Then she took an incredibly --- _big _breath, for want of a better word --- as if she was about to sing an excruciatingly long note of music.

She began to explain the rules, speaking quickly, never hesitating to switch from one subject of interest to another. He tried as best he could to listen intently. But that was probably because he had nothing better to do.

When she was finished, she resumed her normal breathing pattern. "Got it?" she asked.

He just nodded. The game sounded complicated. But complications were what made life interesting.

Arianna was the lighter shade, so naturally she moved first. For a moment, he wondered if that was an age-old racist statement.

Minutes went ticking by. Moves were made; men were taken. Through trial and error, Sephiroth learned quickly just how to hatch the perfect plan in his mind.

Arianna was steadfast and quick-witted; she hadn't been kidding when she said she was a chess extremist. But he himself was clever, and his experience in real combat-planning proved useful.

His technique was subtle, so neither of them quite knew when he got the upper hand. But the game spiraled downward quickly from there, and by the time he called check-mate, he was smirking while she looked about ready to pull her hair out.

"Whatsa matter?" he taunted, "Upset that your student surpassed your hard-earned teachings so quickly?"

She responded by mumbling repeatedly to herself, "I got my ass kicked by a first-timer..."

He stood up, adjusted his robe playfully, walked over to her, and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. "That was fun, Arianna."

"I got my ass kicked by a first-timer."

"It was challenging, and you were good."

"I got my ass kicked by a first-timer."

He leaned in close, bringing her lips to his, tasting her licorice-like defeat. She aggressively kissed him back, her tongue dueling with his in a battle for power. When he pulled away, she grabbed his hair to hold him in place.

"Sephiroth..." she began, her eyes smoldering.

"What? You got your ass kicked by a first-timer? You said that already."

She shook her head. "No, it's not that. We're like fire and ice, aren't we?"

He blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, I mean, think about it. Look at the two of us. I'm hot-headed with a warm demeanor. You're level-headed, and you try to be chilly and push people away. We're total opposites, and yet we're not really whole unless we're together, one radically complimenting the other. Either of us could easily bring the end of the world when we're alone, but our being a couple is the only thing that really keeps the planet going."

She let him go, laying her head on his arm and stroking it gently. "Kinda funny, isn't it?"

Sephiroth looked down in wonder at his astounding lover. What she said had been so heart-felt in all its nonsense. He had to wonder whether what he just heard was a load of bull shit, or if it was just sweet introspection.

He may have been twenty-three, and herself only nineteen, but there were times when he wondered if she was more mature than he'd ever be. She was so simple, and yet so complicated. An open book with pages glued together.

Then, analyzing his own thoughts, he silently reprimanded himself. He had just realized that he was unknowingly becoming Arianna's bitch, and he didn't like it. None of his recent actions had ever truly been in his favor.

He was top Shinra shit, after all. What good would it do him to follow Arianna around like a love-sick puppy?

But then she jumped up out of her seat, turning to kiss him lustfully again. His fingers wove themselves through her beautiful black hair.

She broke from him for a moment to whisper, "Back upstairs again?"

He nodded with a smirk. His body really wasn't in any condition to endure the act. But he didn't mind. Some of the best sex ever was when pain mixed with pleasure.

Arianna led him to the staircase, but stopped before the first step to kiss him again. No matter how many times this occurred, Sephiroth knew he'd never tire of it.

"You'd better realize now, Sephiroth," she muttered mischievously in his ear. "I call check-mate in the bedroom."

He chuckled, even though it hurt. He didn't currently give a damn that it hurt. "Lead on, my fiery queen."


	8. Childhood Nostalgia

(Arianna's PoV)

In December, on the day of Arianna's birthday, she woke up around the same time Sephiroth usually did. She sat on the bed, feeling particularly bouncy, waiting for him to come in the bedroom from taking his shower.

When he did, seeing her wide awake, he smiled and planted a kiss on her lips. "Happy Birthday."

She wrapped her arms around him, not wanting to let go. "Don't go to work today."

He broke from her grasp, giving her a look. "I have to, honey."

"But why?" she whined, sounding like a bratty child. Why didn't he seem to care that it was her birthday? Why didn't he seem to want to spend time with her? "I'm sure you won't have to do anything particularly important today."

He shook his head. "I just... have to, sweetheart."

She glared at him. "No you don't. You just don't want to spend time with me."

He sighed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be that way. I'll spend time with you when I get home." Then, after dressing, he looked at her again, the sulky mood she was suddenly in apparent on her face. "I love it when you act like this."

She wanted to snap at him, to spill out all her negative energy, but bit her tongue. It was _her _birthday, dammit!

He kissed her again, then walked to the door, saying, "I'll see you tonight!"

Then, when he had left and driven off in the truck, she muttered under her breath, "That's what _you_ think." If he was going to ignore her on her day, then she wouldn't be around when he got home for him to ignore. Instead, she'd go somewhere where she knew she'd enjoy herself, where people would celebrate her turning twenty.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth got home, shuffling the gift he had gotten for Arianna nervously in his hands. That gift was an extremely big deal, and he had to make giving it to her a big deal as well. Opening up the door, he shouted out Arianna's name, only to be greeted with an empty and darkened house.

'Oh no,' he thought to himself, disappointed at his lack of luck. 'Where'd she go now?'

Picking up the housephone, he dialed her cell phone number, tapping the wall impatiently until the dial tone stopped and a voice came on.

"Hyello."

He sighed. He was relieved to hear her carefree tone, but was still frustrated to have come home to an empty house. He had planned to make his entry big and dramatic, to sweep her up in his arms and bury his face in her neck, wishing her a happy birthday. But Arianna had ruined those thoughts completely. How _dare _she go out without notice on her birthday?

_"Helloow?"_

"Where are you?" He heard squealing young laughter behind her voice. Who was having so much fun without him?

"I'm at Midgar's local orphanage."

He blinked in silence. Had he heard her right? "What?"

"You _know _you understood me. I won't repeat myself."

He was taken aback by her chilly disposition. Was she still mad at him for working today? "...Why?" he asked in whining desperation. Was she making a statement?

"Well, you said I needed an activity to get me out of the house, and I actually found something that peaked my interests. I've been volunteering here for a week now."

"You never told me that."

"You never asked."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. Now she was trying to make him feel guilty. "Are you coming home anytime soon?"

Then she laughed, a taunting sound that challenged his strength of will. "Nope. But if you want to see me that badly, you can come down here and get me yourself."

"I can wait."

"Aww, come on. I think being surrounded by temporarily smiling young faces will be good for you. You act as if you've never come into contact with a child before."

"Do I _have _to?"

Arianna was doing this on purpose; she knew he was parentless himself. He hated that she knew how easily she could push his buttons.

There was silence for a moment, as if she was deep in thought. "Yeah," she then said. "It _is _my birthday, and you need to do what I say. If only I had known that I had this power this morning."

"Arianna..."

"See you in a few!" Then she hung up, leaving him in silence and self-pity.

Fifteen minutes later, he was standing in front of the orphanage building, abhoration playing at the corners of his mouth.

It was a humble little place, down-trodden, with loneliness built into its structure. Yet the atmosphere conveyed a sort of optimistic hope that the future would somehow be bright.

He hated the idea of going in this place. He would meet way too many homeless children, lost in the world and struggling to find identities for themselves. Some would be depressed. Some would be angry, as he had been. But the worst part of it was that some would still be innocent, their little hearts full of light toward the world and everyone in it. They would be the ones taken advantage of. They would be the ones disappointed. And he didn't think he could face them.

But when he turned to leave, a sugary voice cut off his retreat. "Mr. Pendragon! What a pleasant surprise! Are you here to see Miss Arianna?"

Disgusted, Sephiroth forced himself to face the voice. It was almost funny to hear his false last name again. He had come up with that alias years ago, for he had never had a true surname that he knew of. He had almost forgotten that the identity belonged to him.

Wheeling back again, he came upon a plump, older woman, with a round face and forgiving eyes.

"Yes... I am." It was more a complaint than anything else.

Then the lady smiled, chortling lightly, "Well, I don't think you'll find her by rotating in circles. She's in the playroom."

He gave her a death threat with only his eyes, and then, passing her to enter the facility, whispered to himself, "If only she weren't such a saint. Then she'd get what's coming to her..."

When he was inside, he realized just what he was getting himself into. It smelled of nothing but deprived children. Yuck. Passing several small rooms, some with cots and some with desks, he eventually came upon a room larger than the rest, save for the dining room.

There was an extremely large amount of kids here; he was reminded of an infestation of insects. In one corner, there were girls snuggling raggedy dolls. In another, there were boys knocking miniature, plastic swords together. And in the center of the room was the one responsible for all his torture.

She was playing a small game of soccer with some of the older kids, dribbling the ball back and forth between her feet. She also had a young girl riding on her shoulders, clenching Arianna's hair in her hands and squealing with delight. But the strangest part of it all was that Arianna was enjoying herself. Who was this woman, who could immerse herself in these little pests and still have a good time?

She looked up from her concentration on the ball, saw him standing there, and stopped in her tracks. The carefree, contented smile on her face was replaced by an exasperated, yet humored grin. He guessed that was her way of saying that she was happy he was there.

Then the younger generation curiously turned their heads in the direction of her gaze, and seemed instantly captivated by his presence. All the eyes in the room were on him --- he got the instant urge to squirm.

"Kids, this is a friend of mine, and he'll be staying with us for the rest of the night."

He looked at her insolently. Says who?

"Miss Arianna," one of the girls began, "is he your _boy_-friend?"

Arianna's grin got a little bigger. "Yup. I guess he is."

All the females in the room suddenly burst into a fit of giggles. The boys made gagging gestures. He knew how they felt.

Arianna walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek, and the giggling got worse. He didn't return the motion. He suddenly wasn't feeling very affectionate.

The little girl still perched on Arianna quickly reached out and grabbed a handful of Sephiroth's hair. He tried hard not to flinch. "His hair is so soft, Miss Arianna!"

He looked straight into the young thing's eyes. Full-grown men had been known to twitch at his gaze, but the little girl met it without qualms. "... And his eyes are so shiny!"

Although the statement was simple enough, the child's behavior was surprisingly mature. She may have been extremely young, but she portrayed a strong and intelligent demeanor. He could see it in her eyes. No wonder she appeared to be Arianna's favorite.

Then a small hand tugged on the length of Sephiroth's hair, and he looked down to see a little boy exactly like the child on Arianna's shoulders. He guessed that they were identical twins, completely alike, save for gender. Either that, or he was in a room full of evil little clones.

"What's your name?" the boy asked. His tone was much more serious than his sister's.

"Sephiroth."

The little girl tried to repeat him, but was having trouble. "Sefyr... Sephiro..."

Sephiroth sighed, and Arianna said, "Just Seph is fine."

"You've got a sword," the boy said, and all the other males in the room immediately crowded around him. The squirming feeling came back.

Looking back up at Arianna, he suddenly noticed that her eyes were burning fire. "You should have left that at home."

He blinked at her. "Have you ever known it to leave my side?"

Above the torrent of "Can we see it?"'s, he heard her order, "Go put it in the truck."

He responded in a sort of growl, retorting, "If it goes, then so do I." Then he smiled at her glare.

But instead of reprimanding him in front of all those children, she called out to the room, "Sorry kids, Seph can't play now. He suddenly remembered he has a doctor's appointment."

His smile widened just a little. Even on Arianna's birthday, _he _was the one who came out victorious. He bowed to all the children, their disappointed "Bye"'s bouncing off of his impervious nature.

He left the playroom, impressed at how quickly he had managed to get himself out of that mess. He was back at the entrance again, reaching for the knob and his way to freedom, when he heard a strange sound. It was soft, barely audible. And it was sad.

Looking to his left, he saw a small room that he hadn't noticed before. Inside, there was a tiny shaking form. He took a few steps toward it, to see a young girl sitting on a shabby bed, holding her head in her hands. She was sobbing.

He took another step toward her, noticing that her back was turned to him. "You. Girl," he said. That should have gotten anyone's attention, but the child didn't react. She just kept crying. He walked into the room, tapping on the wall with force. Still nothing.

Intrigued, he reached out to touch her shoulder. But then she found him out of the corner of her eye, and quickly darted under the bed in fear.

"Don't fear me," he mumbled gently. The girl didn't move. Aggravated, he scanned the room for something, anything, to comfort her. Looking toward the ceiling, he saw a high shelf, and on that, a scruffy-looking bear. He took the bear in his hands, and, trying not to make his movements too aggressive-looking, knelt beside the bed.

Putting his head on the floor, his gaze met the frightened child's. She started to make a high-pitched noise, a new stream of tears running down her cheeks. That was when he noticed all the bruises she had on her little body. He sighed. She had been freshly beaten. That was why she was so scared.

He reached out, bear in hand, ignoring her scooting away from his touch. Then he dropped the bear and retreated, sitting on his knees a meter away from the bed, letting silence ensue.

Nothing happened for several minutes --- he was surprised by the girl's longevity. Then he heard scuttling, and her little body slowly moved out from under the bed. Standing up, when their eyes met again, she hugged her bear tightly. Her eyes were full more with curiosity than fear this time.

Sephiroth didn't rise, for he anticipated that his height in comparison with hers would be gargantuan, and might upset her again. "What's your name?" he asked.

She looked at his lips, confused, and shook her head. That made him wonder if she didn't have the hearing he did. A simple hand gesture about her ears seemed to confirm the idea. Thinking carefully, he made another gesture, asking if she knew how to write. She shook her head again.

He looked down at the floor, smiling inwardly at the situation. He knew no sign language, so communication would be very limited. But maybe that was a good thing.

Then the girl walked up to him, leaning close. He in turn leaned back, because he just remembered that she was a child, and that he wasn't supposed to like children. After a moment of nothing but eye-lock, the girl smiled innocently, putting the fingers of her left hand in her mouth. Sephiroth tried to smile back, but managed only to pull off the frightened grimace of a caged animal.

The young thing didn't mind, though. Instead, she giggled, shifting her bear to under her arm, and stuck her right hand out, her palm facing him and her fingers up. Not sure what else to do, he mimicked her movements, putting out his left hand. Their hands met, and the girl took two of his fingers, for that was all she could hold. Her tiny hand was so warm.

Sephiroth suddenly felt strange inside. Most of the time, he thought of children as unnecessary leverage, burdening and increasing in number every day. But he felt for this little thing, because he knew that she would be isolated all of her life for something she couldn't help. Something she was born with.

And although he knew not who she was, or where she came from, he still wanted to return the bruises to her attacker, but on a much greater scale.

He looked away from her darling hazel eyes. He needed to leave before his heart grew soft. Seeming to sense his discomfort, the child let go of his fingers, stepping back a little.

When he stood up, though, she caught him off guard by quickly hugging his leg, the teddy bear squished inbetween them. He reached a hand down and ruffled her dirt-colored hair. She made a cute grunting noise, buried her face in his knee, then let go of him again, running to bounce onto the bed.

When their eyes met for the last time, he held up a hand in farewell. She responded by hugging her bear close again, wiggling where she sat.

He left then, finally exiting the orphanage for good, going out to sit in the truck. It did not take long for Arianna to join him. He must have spent longer with the deaf girl than he thought. Judging by the stormy way she entered the truck and slammed the door, it was clear she was still mad at him.

(Arianna's PoV)

For awhile, they drove in silence, the tension too thick to cut with a knife. Then, bearing the silence no longer, Arianna began the conversation with an accusation, setting herself up for argument.

"Why were you being such a shithead earlier?"

Sephiroth kept his eyes on the road, but she could see his grip on the steering wheel tighten. "Me, the shithead? Hmph. Don't make me laugh."

The fire in her chest flared up again. She _hated _responses like that. "Just because they were children, that doesn't mean you can get away with being impolite to them!"

"They weren't the ones I was trying to be impolite to."

"What _is _it with you?! Today is the day I become an official adult, and you treat it like any other day. You could have stayed home and had fun with me today, but instead you decide to go screw off at work, where you weren't really needed. And you get mad at me for doing something _I _want to do!? Explain that to me!"

"Of all places to go, why there? You know I'm an orphan myself, and I have to wonder if you did this just to make me uncomfortable."

"It's always about you, isn't it!? You're such an inconsiderate asshole! I do that because I feel joy from making others happy. But I suppose that's something you know nothing about."

By the time she had finished her rant, they were already home, and she didn't have to wait for his response before slamming the door as she got out, going in the house to leave Sephiroth still out in the truck, all alone. Not bothering with food or hygiene, Arianna went straight to bed. Being mad at that man always wore her out.

An hour passed, at least, with Arianna lying wide awake, sleep evading her guilty conscience. She sighed, but then, hearing Sephiroth enter the room, closed her eyes and feigned sleep as best she could. He sat on the edge of the bed, placing a gloved hand on her hip.

"You know," he said quietly, "You were so busy calling me inconsiderate, you didn't even give me time to give you your birthday gift."

She opened her eyes and sat up, throwing away the sleep act altogether. She was suddenly intrigued. "What is it?"

Sephiroth smiled. "Close your eyes."

"Is that really necessary? It's dark already."

"_Close your eyes,_" he repeated.

She obeyed, and he took her hand in his, placing a small box on her open palm. Confused, she felt the box for a second, then gasped as the realization hit her. Every romantic on the planet knew what that box meant.

She immediately reached over and turned on the bedside lamp, light tickling the stomach of the room. She looked at Sephiroth with both anxiety and excitement. His eyes were soft.

"Go on," he whispered.

She opened the box with shaking fingers, and met the most beautiful engagement ring she had ever seen. Moonstone and Onix subsequently made the petals of a small flower, with a crimson-toned diamond as the center piece. It was glorious. But it would never be as glorious as what it stood for.

"So how about it, Miss Arianna? Would you like to marry a shithead?"

Trying hard not to burst into tears of joy, she laughed, wrapping her arms around him. "I'd love to."


	9. A New Third Party

Weeks went by, speeding at best. Arianna began to lose track of time when she was with her silver-locked fiancé; days melted into days, until logging her life was almost impossible.

On occasions there was excitement, drama even. But Arianna thought that her favorite part of living with Sephiroth was the daily minutia, the placid little conversations that were supposed to matter the least. She thought those were the most fun.

But lately, a new worry had been brought to her attention. Usually, she was extremely regular, to the point of being able to enter her beginnings on the calendar to see that she started each month around the same time. But this was the second month now where she had missed her period completely.

Anxious curiosity got the best of her, and three positive pregnancy tests later, it was perfectly clear that she had a secret. A secret that could change her life and the lives of everyone connected to her.

She wasn't sure what to do. Telling Sephiroth was out of the question, and every time she was around him now, there was a bit more nervous tension than the last time. She hoped he didn't notice.

For awhile, she wondered who she could tell, someone who wouldn't blab the news to every life form contacted until Arianna felt the time was right. Then she decided to do something she had been meaning to do for awhile: It was time to write her cousin back.

_Dear Kylene,_

_In response to your last letter, yes, I DO_ _think that Midgar fever is a serious mental condition. I swear, at first, when I came here, I was freaked out of my mind. The city is so big compared to Nibelheim! But, now that I'm here, I just love it! I feel reckless, like I can do anything. Maybe that's just because I'm in love..._

_Yes, love. You can blink your bulging eyes of surprise now. And you said I'd never snag a guy! Well, the tables have turned, and we're engaged to be married. We're just not set on a date yet. I say summer; he says winter. He says twilight; I say dawn. It's a constant battle of the wills, and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I'm not going to tell you much about him, though, because you'll think that either I'm psychotic or he is when you really find out his identity._

_How are Junior and the kids? You realize that it's been a couple of years since I've seen the gang all together. Don't worry - you're all invited to the wedding! Even Junior's mom can come! That old broad's always been the life of the party!_

_Sincerely,_

Arianna

_PS. I'm in love with a sex god. I mean it! It seems like his libido is three times that of an ordinary man's! I've got enough seed in me to grow a whole garden. I'm also pregnant with his child... he just doesn't know it yet._

She sat back, read over the letter a second time, and sighed. It was the first time she had spilt the beans to anyone, and she wondered if it was acceptable now. Her cousin would freak the moment she read it, but Arianna knew to trust her, which chased away all the thoughts of taking back what had been written.

"What are you writing?"

She jumped, covering the stationery with her entire torso. Holy shit. She looked over her shoulder, to see Sephiroth standing there, curiosity glimmering like moonstones in his eyes. "Just a letter to my cousin," she responded, failing terribly at trying to sound casual.

"Can I read it?"

_HELL NO_. There was no way she was going to let a few misplaced words reveal to the currently uninformed Sephiroth that he was the father of her baby. He was still too squeamish around children.

"Why would you want to read something as trivial as a letter?"

He smiled. "Because you're hiding it from me." He reached to grab it, but Arianna swiped it away before he had a chance to touch it. He lunged playfully at her, when she zoomed to the staircase and up the stairs, folding the letter as she ran. But Sephiroth's legs were longer, and he made short work of the distance between them that she had so painstakingly tried to cover.

When she reached the bedroom doorway, one good tap with his hand to the back of her foot was all it took to make her lose balance and spiral onto the top of the bed. Without missing a beat, she flipped herself onto her back and luckily slid the piece of paper into her bottom pants pocket before he jumped on top of her like a hungry leopard. His hands automatically went probing under her, but when he came too close to recovering the note, she bit his arm roughly. Not too hard, but enough to make him recoil. She had to stop him from reading that last sentence. There'd be hell to pay if she didn't.

"Oww..." he whined half-heartedly, sticking out his bottom lip. He rolled off of her, temporarily leaving the letter be, and rubbed his injured limb. "Fine. Now I don't _want _to know."

Arianna knew that was a lie. If anything, Sephiroth was even _more _curious now. He looked at her sulkily. It was a really funny look.

"What?"

"You're a biter. I asked a biter to marry me..." he mumbled, looking away from her, as if her appearance burned his eyes. "...What did I get myself into?"

She giggled. He was surprisingly good at acting like a spoiled brat.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

"I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle," she cooed, scooting closer to him. One hand was in her back pocket --- she knew he'd reach for it at any time. The other wrapped around his neck, and she started planting fiery kisses upon it. The combination of those burning kisses and the mystery composed in the note at her backside made him hard. Then again, it didn't take much from her these days to cause _that_.

He began to kiss her back, their lips locking for a moment as their saliva intertwined. He shifted her, to where she was almost splayed across his lap, his arousal digging into her thigh beneath their clothes.

But then she broke from his grasp, saying, "Hold on. I still need to mail this letter." He made a soft sound of protest, only to get a raised eyebrow in response.

"Don't worry. I'll be back." Then she left the room.

"The post office is five minutes away," he called after her. "If it takes you more than ten to get back, I'm going to be pissed."

"TIME ME!"

He heard the exterior door shut. Sephiroth smiled to himself. She sexually tortured him like this on a regular basis, just to see how much he was willing to take. Well, he could take anything she could dish out. If that's what he had to do to be able to experience the euphoria of holding her in his arms.

He had been analyzing his overly abundant emotions lately, and he had come to a realization. He realized that the best part of his relationship with the girl was very simple. It was the fact that... no matter how stupid he acted around her, Arianna would never judge him. They were both just a couple of idiots, young and reckless, and they recognized it. And he understood that he'd be willing to be an idiot alongside her, for as long as she lived.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna ran up the stairs after entering the house, giggling all the way. She went into the bedroom, meeting Sephiroth's gaze triumphantly.

"_Seven _minutes," she announced, proud of her own efficiency. Sephiroth didn't say a word. All he did was beckon for her to come join him in the bed, where he was naked under the sheets.

Undressing as quickly as possible, she closed the bedroom door and made her way over to the bed. Cloaking herself under the bed-sheets, she snuggled close to her man. But her mischievous smile vanished when she saw the strange look in his eyes.

"Sephiro--"

"Shh..." he whispered, mounting her gently.

The next wordless act she experienced wasn't the hot, sweaty sex that she had been expecting. Instead, it was tender, passionate. Moan after moan was wrought from her lips, only matched by the surprisingly plentiful noises coming from Sephiroth himself.

It seemed he had completely let himself go, and when it was over, she lie awake in his sleeping arms, pure awe in her mind. That was beautiful. Sephiroth had never made love to her like _that _before.

Now she felt extremely guilty for with-holding information as precious as pregnancy from him. It's just that she knew he wasn't ready for the idea, no matter how ready he seemed. She'd tell him of their impending parenthood. Just --- not today.


	10. Fate Ruins Everything

That day began as ordinarily as all the others. Sephiroth awoke, bright and early as always. He kissed Arianna good morning, and goodbye right before leaving the house.

He was on a mission in Nibelheim currently, which Arianna thought of as severely ironic. No matter how badly either of them hated that place, they never could seem to escape its clutches.

She watched him out of the upstairs window as he mounted the motorbike that Shinra issued him exclusively for this excursion, and zoomed off in Nibelheim's direction. Then, when he had completely vanished from view, she clutched her robe around her.

She had an eerie feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she realized that Sephiroth leaving was the last thing that should have happened today. But it was too late now. He was long gone, and she couldn't exactly contact him to tell him her feelings --- it really pissed her off that he didn't '_believe _'in cellular phones.

But any doubts she had, she bedded them down and forgot them as the day grew on. She shined the knives in the weapon room, doodled a bit in her sketchbook, and proceeded to make him a fabulous dinner, consulting her favorite cookbook at least every ten minutes.

The sun set; hours passed. Anxious, she looked at the clock. 10:17. Now she was becoming distressed. Sephiroth should have been home an hour ago. And this was the night she had planned on telling him of their child. Where _was _he?

She tried waiting for him, but, after another hour, could stand it no longer. Picking up the house phone and dialing zero, she told the operator to put her through to Shinra Mansion's civilian phone line. Then she waited for a minute or so, nervously listening to the dial tone, until a monotone female voice answered.

"Shinra Incorporated Headquarters. How may I help you?"

She clutched the phone a little tighter. "Um, yes. I'm calling for Sephiroth Pendragon, who is presently on a mission in Nibelheim. Could you tell me of his status and whereabouts?"

"I'm sorry, but I am currently uninformed of that information at this time."

Arianna was immediately irked at how redundantly repetitive that statement was. She felt like she was talking to a malfunctioning machine. If Shinra didn't know, then who did?!

But then she heard another voice, a male one, and the sounds of an argument. It consisted of things like, "But sir!" and "Let me speak to her. You are no longer needed here."

Then the male voice came on the phone, saying, "You're needing Sephiroth?" The voice was annoyingly high-pitched for a man's. It was also a little intimidating, and severely sardonic.

"Y-yes..." she responded.

"My name is Hojo," he then said. "I am a scientist here at Shinra, and I know Sephiroth quite well. He's in the middle of an important training session, and can't be disturbed. What is it that you want with him?"

Arianna took the defensive. Why did he care? It wasn't like he was Sephiroth's father or anything. "I'm Arianna Osurai, his fiancé."

"Ahh, yes. Now that I think of it, Sephiroth speaks quite a bit about you."

She scrunched her nose up. Odd. That didn't sound like Sephiroth at all. "Well, do you have a time estimate on when he'll be returning to Midgar?"

The man on the opposite line laughed. Arianna was getting mad. What was so damn funny?! "Most likely, not until late into tomorrow morning. But if you're needing him urgently, you may come to Nibelheim and see him here. You've been granted access into the Mansion." Then he hung up, and she was left listening to the busy signal.

Hanging up the phone herself, she looked down at the floor, her hands balling into fists. Something fishy was going on. Why had Sephiroth given her a set time of arrival if he had known he was working over-night? And if he had just found out today, at a moment's notice, then why hadn't he contacted her? What was wrong with him?

She suddenly decided to find him, going against her better judgment. Sephiroth needed a good chewing-out, and if she had to go all the way to Nibelheim to give it to him, then so be it. And besides, she wasn't included enough in his work life anyway.

Quickly pulling on her coat and walking out of the house with the keys, she never realized that she completely forgot to grab her cell phone. After she was in and had started the truck, she drove for a ways, then stopped right in front of the orphanage. She ran in as quickly as she could, going straight for Nurse Marigold's office.

"What's the rush, Miss Arianna?" Nurse Mari chided when she saw Arianna.

"High, Mari," she huffed breathlessly. "I just came to say that I'll be in Nibelheim, if any of you guys need me."

Nurse Mari smiled. "Okie dokie."

Arianna left then, restarted the truck, and headed towards Nibelheim, failing to notice the motorbike parked in the lot of Midgar Tavern as she passed.

(Sephiroth's PoV)

The moment Sephiroth entered Midgar's city limits, he knew he couldn't go directly home. Ever since he left Nibelheim, he had an upset stomach and his head hurt like hell.

He veered off into the parking lot of Midgar Tavern, and when he entered the bar, he plopped down into the nearest booth. "Barkeep!" he shouted.

The tender looked up from whatever drink he was making, aggravated. But then, seeing that it was Sephiroth who called to him, made a SOLDIER-like stance and saluted. "Sir!"

"Give me the strongest thing you've got."

The barkeep's eyes widened. "Sir?"

"Don't worry," Sephiroth declared. "I can handle it." And that was true. One of the horrible things about being exposed to overly-abundant levels of Mako was that he had an incredibly high alcohol tolerance. So, when he tried drinking, which was supposed to desensitize a person, his body made almost no reaction.

While he waited, he noticed a group of women who would giggle and glance in his direction. One of them waved, but, when he didn't return the gesture, hung her head in disappointment and went back to her previous activities.

'Sorry ladies,' he thought, 'but this man-whore's taken.'

Before he knew it, the drink was set down in front of him, toxic sludge in a glass. He gave the man seventy Gil, and, when the man sputtered, "But, sir," he held up a hand.

"Please, keep the change."

Then he drank, regretting it almost immediately afterwards. The brew burned terribly as it went down, and he felt even more sick after downing it. Setting the empty glass back on the table, he put his head down and closed his eyes.

It was around nine, and he probably should have been home by now. But Arianna couldn't blame him for being a few minutes late. Just a few minutes...

His eyes shot open, and it took him awhile to remember where he was. As soon as he recognized the bar's interior and his confusion sank in, he saw the barkeep with a broom in his hands. It appeared that they were the only two there.

"Excuse me," Sephiroth began.

The man started, then, swinging around, laughed at Sephiroth's being awake. "Well, I was wonderin' when you'd come to. Then again, what you ordered has been known to knock people out. It's after closing."

Sephiroth's eyes widened. "What time is it?"

"Bout half past midnight."

Sephiroth jumped up so quickly that the booth's seat cushion became slightly dismantled. _Oh shit_! He sprinted out, not giving the tender a chance to say anything else.

Mounting the motorbike and speeding home, he cursed under his breath in shock when he saw nothing in the driveway. Arianna had gone somewhere!? Where!?

Dashing into the house, he picked up the house phone and, right when he started dialing her cell number, he saw the fantastic dinner that had been set out but never touched. He sighed. He was so _stupid_.

Then, as the dial tone began, he heard another noise. "No..." he whispered, and, following the sound to its source, ended up dropping the house phone. Sure enough, there was Arianna's cell phone, ringing and vibrating in place on the desk.

That made his blood chill with stress. Arianna _never _forgot her cell when she went out somewhere. Where'd she _go_?!

He ran back out of the house and got on the bike, driving to the only place he could fathom Arianna to be. Screeching to a halt, he held his head in his hands. _Shit_. The orphanage was closed down for the night. Then he heard a sound, and looking up, saw Nurse Marigold getting in her car.

"Nurse Marigold!" he shouted, driving straight up to her window.

She rolled it down and stuck her head out with curiosity. "Mr. Pendragon? It's awfully late. Is there something I can do for you?"

"Do you, by any chance, know where Arianna is?"

She looked at him in confusion. "Don't _you _know? About an hour ago, she came to me and said that she was going to Nibelheim."

"What...?" he whispered to himself. Arianna hated that place almost as much as he did. Why in the world would she --- ?

"Is something wrong?" Nurse Mari asked. Her kind face was full of genuine concern.

"It's nothing," he replied, and zoomed off, back toward Midgar's city limits.

This was like a dream gone sour. An incredibly twisted wild goose chase. He just hoped that he'd find her before she got herself into too much trouble.

(Arianna's PoV)

Arriving at Shinra Manor, she got out of the car, hugging herself as she looked around at her hometown. Ever since Shinra had had that part of the Mansion rebuilt, more and more people had moved into Nibelheim, and the town was starting to grow out of the homey little place it had been at its start. Now it was just a suburban hellhole.

Walking up to the gate, she tried to greet the two guards at the central doors with a friendly smile. "Hi," she began apprehensively, "I'm Arianna Osurai, and I was permitted to go through security by a, uh, Hojo, I believe."

The guards nodded, and stepped aside to let her through. She was a bit surprised at how easily this was all going. "You'll find Hojo in the upstairs levels of the Mansion," one of them declared.

She looked from one guard to the other. If this was some kind of trap, she'd see it in their faces, wouldn't she? "Um, thanks."

Then she walked in, surveying the inside of the Mansion with amazement. Even though she had a strict reason for being there, she still had to revel in the fact that this place was so _big_, and that she'd never been important enough before to be let in.

'Snap out of it, Arianna,' she told herself. 'It's not you who's important. It's your fiancé, and he's the only reason you're here. Remember that.'

Looking around, she was also surprised at how little there seemed to be of actual people in this place. How was she supposed to ask to get up to the upper levels if there was no one to ask? Walking around for a bit, glancing in several empty rooms, hoping to find some sign of life, she got to the third floor, when she was finally confronted by another being.

"What are you doing up here?"

She started, turning around to see a rather frightening man walking up to her. He had a square jaw that looked like it could be used for construction purposes, and his eyes were horribly dark, which made her own eyes hurt to look at him. He was quite an ugly man, and yet, there seemed to be something oddly familiar about him.

Then, realizing that he had the same voice of the man she spoke to on the phone, she straightened herself up. He was kind of scrawny, fitting the perfect scientist stereotype. She knew she'd be able to kick his ass if she felt the need. "Are you Hojo?"

He looked at her with those horrible, piercing eyes for a moment, then said, "You're that Arianna girl, aren't you? Sephiroth's fiancé?"

She nodded.

Hojo smiled, a frightening gesture all in itself, way too much of his teeth showing for it to look natural. "I know exactly where you need to go. I can show you."

She backed up a bit, trying to distance herself from him without being too obvious. "That would be best, thank you."

They walked in silence for awhile, Arianna making sure to never let the man get too close to her. Then, when they came upon a part of the floor that looked like all the rest, Hojo stopped. Arianna followed suit, trying to watch his face for any notable changes.

"Down there is where you want to go," he said suddenly, pointing to a small hallway to the left of them. "If you follow that hallway all the way down, you'll find a door that will lead you into the training facility."

She looked down the hallway, following Hojo's finger. "Awfully strange place for a training center."

Hojo smiled again, bringing his hand back to his side. Arianna tried to fight off the fantasies of stapling the man's lips shut. "Privacy purposes, you know."

She nodded again, even though she wasn't quite sure she _did_ know. Then she walked down the little hall, not even bothering to thank Hojo. He was just too creepy of a guy for her to be able to show appreciation.

When she came to the door, she cocked her head to the side and gave it a good once-over. This didn't seem right at all. But, seeing that it was the only door in the entire hallway, she shrugged, fighting off the eerie feelings that were starting to haunt her again.

She opened it up, and walked in, only to find that it wasn't a training center, or a hallway leading to a training center. It was just a tiny library, packed with useless books. But when she tried to leave, the door slammed and locked from the outside, trapping her in. She took a step back. Now she was scared.

She started to try and ransack the place, but all the books that she had thought were real were actually just clever murals on the walls. She was breathing hard, attempting to not freak out. She wasn't doing a very good job.

Tears started running down her cheeks, and she shook horribly. There was no way out of here. There had to be a way out! Collapsing in a chair that appeared to be one of the only real things in the room, she noticed a journal sitting on the table next to her. She felt out, and, when she actually touched real parchment, snatched the book up. Maybe it held the key to her escape.

But, when she actually started reading the writing, she knew just how wrong she had been. All of it was about Sephiroth, every word. It depicted him as some horrible monster, some case for lab study, because some alien life form had supposedly been injected inside of him in the womb.

She threw the book back on the table, being able to stand it no more. She started screaming, the only thing she had left to do given the situation. She was in the middle of a science-fiction story, some horror film that hadn't been released in theaters yet.

She screamed until she couldn't, her voice much too hoarse. Then, suddenly, a mass of something materialized out of the corner of her eye. She stumbled back away from it, but, when she tried struggling, it swallowed her up.

Thrown through the abyss, she fell onto the ground at the feet of a man. Looking up, she was deathly shocked at which man it was. "Father?"

He looked down at her with the most supreme bit of loathing she had ever experienced from anyone. She cowered back in fear and shock.

"Little wretch, do you have any idea why you're here?"

Tears streamed down her face once again. "Father, what're you talking about? Here!? Where's here!?" She tried looking around, tried to find some sign of hope, but there was none. There was only black.

Pulled up by her hair, Arianna found the last scream she had in her from the pain, and did her best to fight him off. Unfortunately, her best wasn't good enough.

"The man you were set to marry," her father shouted, "is a killer. A monster. He's the reason his birth-mother is dead. Just like you're the reason for the death of yours."

"No!" she cried, sobbing. "Those were complications at birth. Her dying wasn't my fault! And I don't care what horrible things those assholes at Shinra did to him; he's not a monster, and he never will be!"

Her father then laughed, throwing her backwards. She hit the ground, rolling. She looked up, looking into the eyes of the man that was supposed to be her undying protection. That wasn't her father. It never was. Fathers were kind. Fathers took care of you. Those were things this man had never been or done.

As the fear welled up inside her, so did the anger. She stood up on shaking legs, beginning to run away, when she heard a demonic laugh behind her.

"You'll never get anywhere just running," her 'father' taunted. "Look around you. You're surrounded completely by darkness, the fear and hopelessness of peoples' hearts and minds. There's no way for you to escape now, not when you're so afraid yourself."

Then he vanished, replaced by a swarm of hellish black creatures. Their eyes glowed, and their claws extended toward her.

Rasping where screaming should have been, she ran blindly, being surrounded by them on almost every side. She couldn't help but try to hope for some way to get out of this. Hope was the only thing that could save her. She needed Sephiroth. She needed faith. She needed light.

Then, when she thought that last thought, a blinding brightness shined through the abyss. She heard the creatures screech in pain, felt them shy away from the light's touch. Knowing that this was her way to freedom, she ran toward it, only to be engulfed in it.

She was flying through elements, her body hardly being able to keep up with her heart. Then, when she thought it may never end, she felt her body hit substance, and the spinning stopped.

Exhausted, she collapsed, only able to look at the land beneath her before she went unconscious. It was white sand. And, right before she lost over to her own consumed energy, she heard the sound of surf, growing louder and louder...


	11. The Fire Quills and The Ice Melts

(Sephiroth's PoV)

Sephiroth sped on, pushing the stupid motorbike to its very limits, trying to get to Nibelheim as quickly as possible. The more he drove, the more fearful and angry he became. There were so many horrible things that could be happening to Arianna right now, all because he didn't get there fast enough.

Squealing to a halt at Shinra Manor's main entrance, he looked up to see that their truck was parked not too far off from where he stood. It was completely unoccupied.

Turning off the bike's engine, he dismounted swiftly and ran up to where the entrance guards stood.

"You men," he said forcefully. "How long have you been at this post?"

"For all of the night, sir!"

"Then you can tell me how long ago a young woman named Arianna passed through these doors. She has black hair and brown eyes, and she should have come here about an hour past. Am I correct?"

The guards looked at one another. They badly disguised the nervousness in their eyes. "Sorry, sir. No woman of that description has passed through these doors."

His nerve endings were firing at random now; as the fear for his fiancé grew, the rage bubbled up like hot acid in his mind. He knew they were lieing to him; her beautiful geranium perfume hung as an omen on the air. Their dishonesty fueled the fury to overtake his mind. Grabbing a guard by the neck in each hand, he hauled them both off the ground, kicking and gasping.

"_You lie_," he hissed savagely, digging his clenched fingers into their throats. Blood ran down his hands from their gougings, but it wasn't enough. There would never be enough blood spilt to slake his anger.

The guards' eyes were full to brimming with horror; they knew their deaths were upon them. And Sephiroth would not disappoint. Throwing them to the ground, he unsheathed the Masumune and slashed at them before they could have reacted in any way whatsoever. Four halves now lay where two whole men had once been.

Tearing the oak doors open, the force of his madness ripped them clean off their hinges. Tossing them back behind him, not caring where they landed, Sephiroth proceeded to follow his love's scent through the Mansion like a bloodhound designated to hunt down an intoxicated criminal.

The fragrance trail contained many confusing twists and turns, as if Arianna had slowly meandered through without any real purpose. But he knew that wasn't true; she had been looking for him. Some deceptive, murder-worthy soul had led her to believe that she could find him here, when in truth he should have been on his way home to see her.

If only she had stayed put. But Sephiroth knew that was an impossibility to ask for. He loved the boisterous woman _because_ she wouldn't do as she was told. _Because_ she wouldn't let her opinions be squashed down by "The Man," as she called it. What a childish rebellion concept. That's exactly why he loved her.

He hardly met a soul during his quest, the few unlucky ones being permanently silenced before they could alert the rare others in the building of his presence. Every time he came upon a randomly closed door, a tiny hope sparked in his chest, only to be replaced by a stronger sense of anxiety and frustration as each door was opened upon futility.

As he deepened himself into the labyrinth, his blood ran cold when his Arianna's light fragrance was joined by a threatening new smell. It was a combination of a sickeningly strong cologne and the sterile, foreboding stench of pressed white lab coats and glass beakers. Hojo. Sephiroth had never liked the scientist; even though the man had always been distantly kind to him, Sephiroth knew better than to assume that the man's motives fell short at mere friendliness. In the unforgiving world of Shinra, not a single soul gave greatly without expectation of something even greater in return.

Passing a narrow, inconspicuous hallway, Sephiroth halted in his tracks. The traces of humans were strangely muddled here, as if several groups of people had dispersed, only to reform in greater size hours later. Hojo's stench overlapped itself several times over, while Arianna's fragrance was as light as ever. It _did_ travel down the tiny hallway, though.

Stomping heavily down the hall, Sephiroth now _officially _didn't give a damn who knew he was here. Coming to rest where Arianna's scent seemed to end, there was an imparticularly small door cracked slightly, promising dark secrets just on the other side. Opening the door quickly, Sephiroth came with surprise upon a secluded collection of small books, random documents, and dusty journals.

To his furied dismay, the girl was nowhere in sight _or_ smell. That confused him, which incidentally scared him more. She couldn't have just vanished into thin air! What could have happened to her?! _Who _could have happened to her?!

"Arianna!" he bellowed, his voice shallow and overflowing with unfavorable emotion. His breathing was coming fast, as he found no response, no comforting presence. Just the greatest sense of doom that had ever stabbed at his insides.

Turning to leave this damned speck of text files, an open book caught his eye. It may have been dark, but his demonically-enhanced vision saw clearly her upside-down-heart fingerprint designs all over the stale pages. They shone out like annoying little reminders of all the places his lover wasn't.

Picking up the dusty volume, he realized it was a journal. And not just any journal; he recognized Hojo's disgustingly precise handwriting. Involuntarily scanning the words to try to assess how much time had passed since Arianna's hands had been holding the journal, Sephiroth suddenly noticed his name in the depths of the entry. His interest was peaked; no wonder Arianna had picked up this particular book.

The page was dated. It marked his eighth birthday. Mystified, he began to read the entry. The first sentence started out as: The subject is flourishing surprisingly well, despite one major health problem no doubt caused by the continually increasing amount of Jenova in his system...

The more Sephiroth read, the more his horror distinguished itself in his gut. This was a nightmare; a nightmare that was growing in intensity, threatening to collapse in on itself. His hands started shaking, and salty liquid began to prick his eyes. He ended up dropping the book, only to clutch his head in pain. Was he hemorrhaging again? No, this wasn't a physical ailment; it was something much worse.

He now knew information that he needn't ever know, and he hadn't even asked to acquire it. He now knew why he was so different. But it wasn't because he was just an ordinary man with extraordinary features and abilities. In fact, now he didn't even consider himself a man. He was a product. A product of scientific exploration. He knew it was true, but he wouldn't accept it. He couldn't... not yet...

He had to find Arianna. Once he did, everything would make sense again. He would take her in his arms, and her warmth and heartbeat would calm him. Everything would be alright. Once he found her...

He took off at a sprint, barreling through the Mansion's hallways until he practically exploded out of the doorway, jumping over the askew doors and severed bodies. There was one place left to look. If she wasn't there, then he would return to their home in Midgar, where she _had _to be. If she wasn't --- well, he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.

When he arrived at the door of Arianna's former home, he hesitated a moment before going in. He needn't _look _in a panic, even though he was. Slicking back his frizzy hair, he remembered just how keenly Arianna's father had been on the verge of conniption when the man had stumbled upon him romancing the girl. He didn't want to imagine how badly the man would react when he found out that Sephiroth had _lost _his daughter. Oh Arianna... _please _be in there!

Knocking with a shaky hand, Sephiroth's main concern was to keep the tears out of his eyes and the bile from rising in his throat. He had never had such a high level of distress in his system before --- and he never wanted to ever again.

The door opened, and there stood the man that had introduced Sephiroth to true beauty years before. There was one main difference, though --- the little man didn't seem shocked or elated to see him. Actually, it appeared that he had been _waiting _for Sephiroth's arrival. The man's eyes were cold, evil. He grinned sadistically, his smile full of vicious intent.

"Well, if it isn't the hero of all of Shinra... Great to have you back. Looking for something? Or should I say some-_one_?"

It caught Sephiroth off-guard. The man knew exactly why he was here. And worse --- that meant he knew where Arianna was. He had a part in this abduction, this mind-game...

'And now,' Sephiroth thought as the old feelings of hatred came flaring up again like hellish demons, 'he's made his own death wish.'

Placing a hand on the Masumune, he tried to keep his composure as his vision crimsoned again. "Where is she?!" he growled, showing that he intended no mercy unless the man chose to cooperate.

But the man just laughed. "Go on," he mocked, "brandish the sword, son of a bitch. Stab it through my heart. I think you'll be surprised to find there's nothing there."

But Sephiroth did not. Instead, he pushed the little bastard out of the way and proceeded to tear the house apart, incessantly calling out his lover's name. There was no answer. Just the evil little man's laughter.

"You'll never find her that way," he chided over the noise of Sephiroth's rampage. "In fact, you'll probably _never _find her again in the realm of light."

That statement made Sephiroth turn on the man again, taking out the Masumune to press it up against the man's jugular. "Where is she?!" he repeated, in such a state of blind emotional distress that he did not notice how frightening his voice had become. It oozed rage. It oozed fury. It oozed _death_.

As insanely fearless as the man seemed to be, he _did _flinch at the murder in Sephiroth's voice. The smile vanished from his face and the laughter died in his now-endangered throat.

"I handed her over to the darkness," he said after some minutes. "I hated the fact that someone who had been the cause of her mother's death could still live on with such a pure heart. The only way you even have a chance of getting her back is if you dive headlong into the darkness yourself."

In frustration, Sephiroth put quite a bit more pressure on the man's throat. The man spoke nonsense. Darkness, heart... what _was_ this bullshit? Now even if the man swallowed, he'd spell his own death.

Trying his best to lean away from the sword with the short bit of room Sephiroth gave him, the man glared at him, the hatred in his eyes almost matching Sephiroth's.

"I used to revere you as a demigod... And to think, you put your _alien dick _inside my daughter."

The words hit him with stinging intensity, and Sephiroth lost all self-control. He withdrew the sword, only to stab it again through the man's stomach. When he heard the man's guttural gasps in pain, he slowly began to wrench and turn the Masumune inside the man, tears burning his hot cheeks. He wasn't going to give this son of a bitch the satisfaction of leaving this world quickly and painlessly. Instead, he'd make the bastard suffer as much as _he _was right now.

He continued his ghastly rotation until he was sure the man was dead, then he left the body to trash the house again. It wasn't for search, though. He _knew _Arianna wasn't here. This time was out of fury. Out of _agony_.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?"

Starting at the shriek, he swung around to see Lexi standing in the doorway. It shouldn't have been possible, but it seemed she was _even more _anemic than the last time he had seen her.

Seeing her father's blood-stained corpse, she began to scream, not moving a centimeter from where she stood. The noise was blood-curdling, deafening, straight from a banshee's throat.

Rushing up to her, Sephiroth covered her entire face in one of his hands. "Quiet, floozy!" he whispered maliciously. "Or do you want to end up just like your father?"

She struggled, which she proved to be good at, much better than Arianna had ever been. Arianna was a lover, not a fighter.

Throwing her into the house, Sephiroth saw that the girl fell close to the fireplace, knocking curtains that he had previously torn down back into a fire which he had failed to notice. The flammable material caught in seconds, and soon the whole house was up in flames. Running out to escape the sudden heat, Sephiroth made no attempt to save the unconscious Lexi still lying in the structure. Arianna had always resented her half-sister, and he was not willing to spare anyone who wronged the love that he suddenly seemed to be without.

He did like the fire, though. It matched his burning need for revenge. If only there were more of it. But he knew he needn't make an effort for that. The land was parched, and the night was a windy one.

In less than fifteen minutes, almost all of the town was engulfed in a fiery embrace. People were running for their lives, and multiple frightened voices tainted the night as thickly as the smoke.

A bit away from the focus of the commotion, Sephiroth had slain the few who dared come his way. No matter how much damage was caused, though, he didn't feel satisfied. No act could avenge the wrongs that had been committed tonight. The horrible secrets that had been discovered tonight.

Then, seeing an ebony-haired SOLDIER sprint out of the Shinra Mansion to look immediately in _his _direction, he finally fled the scene. He was suddenly exhausted, and he honestly didn't think that a confrontation with Zack would bring him anything but trouble.

He ran, purposelessly, until he reached his motorbike, mounting it to zoom off in one particular direction. He now knew where he was going, but it wasn't to Midgar. Arianna's father's words had charted him a new course. He knew nothing of the matters of the heart, but he _did_ know one thing: if there was one place on this planet that Arianna's heart was connected to, it would be where he was going. A place where darkness never resided, no matter how deep the night: The Forgotten City.

The night air was chilling, and would have stung his face at these speeds under normal circumstances. But nothing was normal about tonight. The heat of his anger had died where it stood, and now he was frozen inside. Cold on cold made hardly a difference.

Sephiroth had no idea of the length of time it took him to reach his target --- time itself had disintegrated as a tangible idea. When he dismounted, he knew automatically that Arianna could not be found; he would have smelled her by now. That fact came as no surprise to him. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't help but believe that the web of bullshit that Arianna's father had woven was actually based in fact.

Slowly treading with light feet, he came to rest at the very spot where he had first laid claim to his love's body. He was sure that it was theirs; The Forgotten City did not age, and the grass was still dented where their desire-stricken bodies had lain. Sitting down, he took the soft ground in his hand, and he remembered. He felt the warmth of her body. He heard her laughter in the air. He tasted her sweet kisses on his tongue.

"Oh Arianna," he said aloud to the wood, which echoed his own loneliness, "where might you be now? Are you safe? Are you taken care of? Or are you lost in an empty abyss, crying your eyes out, waiting? Waiting for someone to rescue you, when I have no way to find you..." He stopped. The tears were overflowing again, and he had no energy left to bed his emotions down. He laid there and sobbed, uncontrollably.

At that moment in time, he made up for all the crying he had never done. He made up for all the emotions he had never shown. But most of all, he made up for all the regret he had never experienced. He regretted the times he hadn't listened to her talk of the strength of heart. The times he had dismissed the girl's ideas as romantic nonsense. And he regretted staying out late, when he should have been at home, keeping Arianna from acting on her worry about him. She had done nothing but think of him. _He _had done nothing but think of himself. And now she was gone, and he may never see her again...

He sobbed until no more tears would come, and then he sat up. He had had a sudden change in disposition.

Why was he blaming himself? After all, her disappearance wasn't truly _his _fault. It was Shinra. He blamed Shinra. For some reason, Shinra hadn't wanted him to have an object of his affections, so they had taken her away from him. And Arianna's father, being an ex-SOLDIER, had gladly taken part in the whole thing.

It seemed that his own karma had taken great pleasure in establishing what he cherished most and tearing it away from him, making his whole damned life fall apart. Together they had been fire and ice, but now that his fire was gone, there was nothing left. Nothing but hysterical laughter. At that moment, Sephiroth would have laughed if he lived, laughed if he died, even laughed if all of the hair was ripped out of his head.

He looked at his own hands. They seemed foreign to him, tools of destruction that some other life form must be using. He wasn't even a human anymore. In fact, it appeared he never had been.

Jenova, the calamity that fell from the sky over 2000 years ago, had been injected into his system when he was still an unborn embryo. It was the reason he had unnatural hair and unnatural eyes. The reason he had unnatural strength, and unnatural abilities. It was the reason for his creation, in a sense, a mother he never had.

He laughed, out loud this time, hearing his voice disturb his once placid surroundings. 'Mother.' What an alien concept.

Then, picking himself up off the ground, Sephiroth had a revelation. If Jenova was such a large part of his existence, then he should be able to use it to his advantage. Maybe he could use it to dive into darkness, as Arianna's father had said. Maybe he could use it to find Arianna.

He had another thought. What if Arianna had escaped the darkness? What if she wasn't even on this planet anymore? What if, instead, she was just in another part of the universe, somewhere far off, and all he needed to do was find a way to get to her? What if he used a mass of land, just as Jenova had, to explore the cosmos, finding his long lost love? Then they could live together, happily, no matter what planet they were on.

Yes, that was it. That was what he would do. And all he needed to do was get Jenova's help. 'Mother's' help. If he remembered correctly, the journal of Hojo's had said that Jenova's remains had been stowed up in a mountain north of Nibelheim, stored inside a Mako reactor.

He would find Jenova, steal her away from Shinra's possession. Then he would call on her for assistance, and together they would find a way to make good use of this desolate planet.

He left then, the plan forming in his mind. As he went to go try something no other human being had ever imagined trying, he began to sing, "She'll be Comin Round the Mountain" to himself, a humorous salute to his own dwindling sanity. Looks like he and Jenova were going to spend some quality mother-son time together.

eight months time)

(Arianna's PoV)

Arianna cried out in pain, her body experiencing the worst contractions of her life. But she would get through it. She had to deal with this baby in her body for almost ten months; there was no way she was giving up so easily.

Her friend was there, shouting out encouragements to her. Her name was Kylene, just as Arianna's cousin's name had been. She had mahogany hair and warm blue eyes, and the weight from her own five-month-old unborn was very apparent. She had been the only one to truly befriend Arianna since she was found, lying half-dead in the sand. And now, in Destiny Islands, her only hope of a new home, Arianna felt that Kylene might be her salvation.

Giving one final push, with her last bit of waning energy, Arianna felt the release as the baby finally came out. The doctors immediately proceeded to clean the newborn up, and Arianna hated that she couldn't see what she had worked so hard to achieve.

It grew eerily quiet in the birthing room. Arianna was restless, no matter how exhausted she may be. "Let me see my baby!" she screamed, and Kylene rushed over to give her a comforting hug.

Then the doctors brought the child over, and Arianna gasped when she saw him for the first time.

"It's a boy! It's a boy!"

"Stop shouting, Kylene!" she snapped. "I can see that for myself."

They handed the baby over, and she held the bundle in her arms, reveling in his little warmth. He had silver hair.

"Strange baby, this one," one of the doctors said. "Most healthy babies cry when they're born. This one doesn't make a sound, and yet there's not a thing wrong with him!"

"He's not strange," Kylene retorted. "He's adorable!" That made the doctors leave the room.

Looking down at her son, Arianna was shocked to see him open his eyes so soon, and even more shocked to see what color they were. Most babies were born with blue eyes, no matter what color their eyes became as adults. This baby, on the other hand, had bright green. Mako green. Sephiroth's green.

She burst into tears, and Kylene became distressed. "What's wrong?!"

"N-nothing," Arianna sobbed. "I just can't believe how beautiful he is."

"Yeah..." Kylene mumbled. Then she interjected, "Oh, I almost forgot. Whatcha gonna name him?"

Arianna looked down again at her beautiful son. He needed a name worthy of him. Worthy of what he stood for.

"Riku," she said after some minutes.

Kylene beamed. "Riku? Ooh, I love it!"

"So do I."

There was silence for awhile, then Kylene said quietly, "Arianna, I just thought you should know, you were whispering in your sleep again last night."

Arianna looked up. "What was I whispering?" Not like she didn't know.

Kylene shook her head. "You just... kept whispering his name, over and over again."

Arianna closed her eyes. "I'm not surprised."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, Kylene. You've already been such a big help as it is. I don't think I could ask much more of you."

"Alright..."

Then, Kylene left, and Arianna was alone with her baby. She held his tiny face in her hands and kissed his nose.

"Someday, Riku," she whispered to him, "I hope you get to see the man who's responsible for your creation. The only one who ever made a true difference in my heart. I hope you get to see Sephiroth, the ice that cooled my fiery unrefinement. The one who made all the light my heart ever needed to survive the darkness..."


	12. The Story Isn't Finished

And don't miss the next part of the story:

Jenova's Grandchild

Pacing back and forth in the tiny space I called a room, I let my mind wander the far corners of consciousness. I was extremely restless, for no particular reason.

I had no desire to go on another adventure anytime soon; I felt my body, heart and mind had had enough trauma to recover from for now. After all, I had gone through in two years what some would never experience in their lifetimes. But I still needed some way to occupy my time. A way that was hopefully constructive.

I stopped pacing for a moment, looking in the small mirror I kept mounted above my writing desk. How could I feel so much older than I looked? How could I experience so much drama without it being the least bit apparent in my features?

I pushed my slate-colored bangs away from my face, letting them fall back to their resting position. Exhausted green eyes stared back at me.

"Just another day," I muttered to myself. I had to learn to be calm, to ease my mind and live for the moment. If I did not, I feared that insanity would take me over in this tiny world.

Walking down the stairs, I reached for the back door's knob when I heard, "Riku? Going out again, sweetie?" I looked over my shoulder. My mother was standing behind me. Her demeanor was calm, and yet her chocolate eyes were full of concern. Bless her heart.

"Yeah, Mom," I responded. "Just going to the island. I need some time to think."

She looked down for a moment, then, trying to appear as carefree as she could, returned her gaze to me. "Kay. Just wondering." She turned her back to me, beginning to walk away, back to her previous activities.

"Mom," I said, on a stroke of resolution. She stopped, turning her head with a questioning gaze. I gave her my most heart-felt smile, one she deserved to get every day. "Don't worry. I'll be back."

She smiled back, sheer will controlling the sudden glossiness in her eyes. "Yeah, I know."

I left the house then, walking down the beach to board my personal boat. Taking out my oar, I started rowing toward the 'children's island,' as the adults seemed to refer to it. It was a place I went every chance I got.

Sitting on my usual spot on the paupou tree, I stared out over the beautiful ocean, letting my heart drift through memories, good and bad.

I would be seventeen in exactly a month, my childhood slowly ebbing away beneath my feet. Two years ago, I had tried being an adult. I had tried to take on more responsibilities than I could handle. And all that became of that was a period of suffering, not only for me, but for everyone I had ever cared for. Especially my mother.

The poor woman had taken on a challenge from the start, choosing to raise me alone in a home with no man to support either of us. I had never really asked of my father. I could tell that my mother had been hurt, and that discussing that pain was hard for her. That missing figure had never made a true difference to me anyway; all I knew was that I was to be the man of the house, strong without argument.

And then I had left her, chasing an idiotic fantasy of freedom that had only gotten me caged tighter than I had ever been at home. Oh, how she must have been upset. I had left her all alone, facing nothing but her own horrible memories and the over-flowing worry that came with missing a loved one. Every time I thought about it, I felt I deserved to be punished for my own damned selfishness.

Hearing an unnatural noise, my eyes whipped open. I had not even realized closing them in my overwhelming train of thought. I looked in the direction of the source of the noise, behind me to my right, to meet a sight that almost made me fall off my perch: _there was a body being washed up on the beach._

I immediately jumped down, running toward the sight. "Hey!" I called. Not that it made any difference - the man was clearly unconscious. Either that, or... Well, let's just say I hoped he was alive.

As I got closer to the body, I saw that it adorned a massive, raven-like black wing. That made me hesitate. What if this was one of the dark soldiers, failing in an attempt to put an end to the Keyblade wielders? I debated with myself, for precious seconds. Then I came to the conclusion that the possible saving of a life was much more important than anything that was to come. I would live for the moment.

Reaching under the wing, I flipped the body, not yet looking at the man's face. I grabbed his hand, covered in an arm-length glove, feeling his wrist. Luckily, he still had a pulse.

I sighed. Would the crises in my life ever end? Finally looking at the man's face, I shouted in shock, staggering back a few paces. Had I seen what I thought I saw? Slowly walking up again, I knelt beside the man, looking at him closely.

He appeared to be an older version of _me, _with the same silver hair and slightly pale skin. The only difference in our features was that his appeared to be much sharper. That, and he was covered in nasty-looking scorch marks.

I held my nose and took another step back. Because of my previous endeavors, my senses had been heightened beyond that of an average person's. And this man _stank. _He reeked of darkness, psychosis, and inner pain. Not to mention the horrible smell of salty, wet feathers.

Who was this man, who so uncannily resembled myself? And what had he done to end up here, lying unconscious in the sand? My mind was running rampant; I needed to severely calm it until I knew the truth behind the situation.

"Riku!"

I looked up to see Sora running toward me, distressed intrigue in his gait. I gestured for him to come help me.

I had decided to move the man, keeping him captive somewhere a bit safer for everyone. After all, I had no idea how dangerous he would be when he came to. And the seven-foot sword I found in his attire didn't make me any more confident.

When he did finally awake, though, I could get some answers. Answers to the endless stream of questions that seemed to be zooming through my mind.

And although I tried to keep one particular idea from my thoughts, it just kept coming back. It was the thought that maybe - just maybe - this was the paternity I had been searching for. The paternity that my mother and I had lived without for seventeen long years...


End file.
